guru
/ˈɡʊɹuː/noun, verb
guru is spelled G-U-R-U: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.6 times per million words in written English, the 9,313th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, guru means “In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of guru is gurus.
How many letters and syllables are in guru?
| Letters | 4: G-U-R-U |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.6 times per million words; the 9,313th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is guru?
Guru appears 6.6 times per million words in written English, the 9,313th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce guru?
- UK /ˈɡʊɹuː/
- UK /ˈɡuːɹuː/
- UK /ɡʊˈɹuː/
Guru has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-guru.wav, En-us-guru.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with guru?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as guru from its last stressed vowel (/ʊɹu/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of guru
- gurus plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- goru
- gooroo
- guruing participle, present
- gurued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does guru mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
- 2
IndiaAny general teacher (as a term of respect).
- 3
An influential advisor or mentor.
- 4
derogatoryA fraudster or conman relying on a projected air of confidence in an obscure field.
verb
- 1
To act as a guru; to give wise advice
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Guru in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense spiritual teacher:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does guru come from?
Borrowed from Hindi गुरु (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “venerable, respectable”), originally "heavy" and in this sense cognate to English grieve and, more distantly, brute. Doublet of grave. A traditional, though flawed etymology based on the Advayataraka Upanishad (line 16) describes the syllables gu as “darkness” and ru as “destroyer”, thus ascribing the meaning of “one who destroys/dispels darkness” to the word.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).