indaba
in·da·ba/ɪnˈdɑbə/noun
indaba is spelled I-N-D-A-B-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables (in·da·ba). It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, indaba means “A tribal conference held by Nguni leaders” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of indaba is indabas.
How many letters and syllables are in indaba?
| Letters | 6: I-N-D-A-B-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: in·da·ba |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 109,062nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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 indaba?
Indaba appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd 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 indaba?
- UK /ɪnˈdɑːbə/
- US /ɪnˈdɑbə/
Indaba has 3 syllables, split in·da·ba in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-indaba.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with indaba?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as indaba (/ɑbə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: badian.
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 indaba
- indabas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does indaba mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tribal conference held by Nguni leaders.
- 2
Any conference, discussion, or meeting.
- 3
Chiefly in one's own or someone's indaba: a concern, matter, or problem.
- 4
An international conference of Scout leaders.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Indaba in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tribal conference held by Nguni leaders:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | indaba |
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 indaba come from?
Borrowed from Zulu índaba (“affair, issue, matter; piece of news; story”), from ín- (class 9 noun prefix) + -daɓa (stem meaning ‘affair, matter’).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).