karate
/kəˈɹɑ.ti/noun, verb
karate is spelled K-A-R-A-T-E: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, karate means “An Okinawan martial art involving primarily punching and kicking, but additionally, advanced throws, arm bars, grappling and all means of fighting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in karate?
| Letters | 6: K-A-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th 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 and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 karate?
Karate appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th 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 karate?
- UK /kəˈɹɑː.ti/
- UK /kəˈɹɑː.teɪ/
- US /kəˈɹɑ.ti/
Karate has 3 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-karate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with karate?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as karate from its last stressed vowel (/ɑti/):
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 karate
- karates present, singular, he/she/it
- karateing participle, present
- karated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does karate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An Okinawan martial art involving primarily punching and kicking, but additionally, advanced throws, arm bars, grappling and all means of fighting.
verb
- 1
informalTo attack (somebody or something) with karate or similar techniques.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Karate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense martial art:
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 karate come from?
Borrowed from Japanese 空(から)手(て) (karate), from 唐(から)手(て) (karate), an orthographic borrowing from Okinawan 唐手(とーでぃー) (tōdī, “Chinese hand”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).