jambalaya
/ˌd͡ʒæmbəˈlaɪə/noun
jambalaya is spelled J-A-M-B-A-L-A-Y-A: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, jambalaya means “Any of various of rice-based dishes common in Louisiana Cajun or Creole cooking, most often with shrimp, oysters, chicken or ham” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jambalaya is jambalayas.
How many letters and syllables are in jambalaya?
| Letters | 9: J-A-M-B-A-L-A-Y-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,055th 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 jambalaya?
Jambalaya appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,055th 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 jambalaya?
- /ˌd͡ʒæmbəˈlaɪə/
- /ˌd͡ʒʌmbəˈlaɪə/
Jambalaya has 4 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).
Forms of jambalaya
- jambalayas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jambalaya mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various of rice-based dishes common in Louisiana Cajun or Creole cooking, most often with shrimp, oysters, chicken or ham.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jambalaya in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense rice-based dish from Louisiana:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | jambalaya |
| German | Jambalaya |
| Portuguese | jambalaia |
| Spanish | jambalaya |
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 jambalaya come from?
Borrowed from Louisiana Creole jambalaya.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).