hymn
/hɪm/noun, verb
hymn is spelled H-Y-M-N: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hymn means “A song of praise or worship, especially a religious one” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hymn is hymns.
How many letters and syllables are in hymn?
| Letters | 4: H-Y-M-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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 hymn?
Hymn appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th 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 hymn?
- /hɪm/
Hymn has one syllable (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-us-hymn.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with hymn
Sounds like: him (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of hymn
- hymns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hymning participle, present
- hymned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hymn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A song of praise or worship, especially a religious one.
verb
- 1
To sing a hymn.
- 2
To praise or extol in hymns.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hymn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a song of praise or worship:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hymne |
| German | Hymne, Hymnus, Kirchenlied, Loblied, Lobgesang |
| Portuguese | hino |
| Spanish | himno, salmo, cántico, canto, motete, aleluya |
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 hymn come from?
From Middle English ymne, from Old English ymen (reinforced by Old French ymne), from Latin hymnus, borrowed from Ancient Greek ὕμνος (húmnos).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).