kris
noun, verb
kris is spelled K-R-I-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kris means “A traditional Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino sword or dagger having a tapering, usually serpentine blade” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kris is krises or krisses.
How many letters and syllables are in kris?
| Letters | 4: K-R-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.5 times per million words; the 12,045th 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 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 kris?
Kris appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th 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 kris?
Kris 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).
Words people confuse with kris
Also written: crease, cress, cris, criss, kriss.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with kris?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as kris.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: risk.
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 kris
- krises plural
- krisses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- crease
- creese
- creeze
- crese
- cress
- cris
- crise
- criss
- crys
- cryse
- keris
- kreese
- kriss present, singular, he/she/it
- krising participle, present
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kris mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A traditional Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino sword or dagger having a tapering, usually serpentine blade.
verb
- 1
To stab or cut with a kris; to kill with a kris.
noun
- 1
plural of KRI
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kris in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense type of dagger:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | criss |
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 kris come from?
Borrowed from Malay keris. Doublet of kalis. Recognized as part of English ca. 1580.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).