honcho
hon·cho/ˈhɑn.t͡ʃoʊ/noun, verb
honcho is spelled H-O-N-C-H-O: 6 letters and 2 syllables (hon·cho). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, honcho means “Boss, leader” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of honcho is honchos or honchoes.
How many letters and syllables are in honcho?
| Letters | 6: H-O-N-C-H-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: hon·cho |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th 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; 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 honcho?
Honcho appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th 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 honcho?
- US /ˈhɑn.t͡ʃoʊ/
- UK /ˈhɒn.tʃəʊ/
Honcho has 2 syllables, split hon·cho in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-honcho.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with honcho?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as honcho from its last stressed vowel (/ɑntʃoʊ/):
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 honcho
- honchos plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- honchoes plural
- honchoing participle, present
- honchoed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does honcho mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalBoss, leader.
verb
- 1
CanadaUSinformalTo lead or manage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Honcho in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense boss, leader:
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 honcho come from?
From Japanese 班(はん)長(ちょう) (hanchō, “squad leader”), from 19th c. Mandarin 班長 /班长 (bānzhǎng, “team leader”). Probably entered English during World War II: many apocryphal stories describe American soldiers hearing Japanese prisoners-of-war refer to their lieutenants as hanchō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).