kantele
/ˈkɑntəleɪ̯/noun
kantele is spelled K-A-N-T-E-L-E: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 76 million words in written English, the 275,970th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kantele means “A plucked string instrument (a zither) of the Baltic psaltery family, traditionally with five strings but now more widely varying, originating in the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kantele is kanteles.
How many letters and syllables are in kantele?
| Letters | 7: K-A-N-T-E-L-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 76 million words; the 275,970th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is kantele?
Kantele appears about once in every 76 million words in written English, the 275,970th 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 kantele?
- UK /ˈkæntələ/
- UK /ˈkæntəleɪ/
- US /ˈkɑntəleɪ̯/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of kantele
- kanteles plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kantele mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A plucked string instrument (a zither) of the Baltic psaltery family, traditionally with five strings but now more widely varying, originating in the folk music of Finland, where it is seen as a national symbol.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kantele in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense traditional Finnish string instrument:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Kantele |
| Portuguese | kantele |
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 kantele come from?
From Finnish kantele. Ultimate etymology contested; see Proto-Finnic *kandël for theories.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).