hinterland
/ˈhɪntə(ɹ)ˌlænd/noun
hinterland is spelled H-I-N-T-E-R-L-A-N-D: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hinterland means “The land immediately next to, and inland from, a coast” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hinterland is hinterlands.
How many letters and syllables are in hinterland?
| Letters | 10: H-I-N-T-E-R-L-A-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is hinterland?
Hinterland appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th 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 hinterland?
- /ˈhɪntə(ɹ)ˌlænd/
- /-lənd/
Hinterland has 3 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: En-au-hinterland.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hinterland
- hinterlands plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hinterland mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The land immediately next to, and inland from, a coast.
- 2
The rural territory surrounding an urban area, especially a port.
- 3
A remote or undeveloped area.
- 4
That which is unknown or unexplored about someone.
Near-synonym: shadow
- 5
An area of land far from the sea.
- 6
Anything vague or ill-defined, especially something that is ill understood.
Near-synonym: shadowland
- 7
UKAn individual's depth and breadth of knowledge, especially a politician's in areas outside politics, such as of academic, artistic, cultural, literary and scientific pursuits.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hinterland in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | arrière-pays |
| German | Binnenland, Hinterland, Inland , Umland , Provinz |
| Portuguese | litoral , sertão |
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 hinterland come from?
Borrowed from German Hinterland, from hinter (“behind”) + Land (“land”), cognate to English hinder (“back, rear”) + land. First used in English in 1888 by George Chisholm in his work Handbook of Commercial Geography originally as hinderland, but the current spelling (following German) became more popular. The term is characteristic of a thalassocratic analysis of space (from the point of view of a nation with maritime supremacy, such as 19th-century Britain).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).