kumbaya
/ˌkum.baɪˈjɑ/noun
kumbaya is spelled K-U-M-B-A-Y-A: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kumbaya means “Used to evoke spiritual unity and interpersonal harmony, with varying degrees of sincerity or sarcasm, as referring to the folk song” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in kumbaya?
| Letters | 7: K-U-M-B-A-Y-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,980th 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 kumbaya?
Kumbaya appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th 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 kumbaya?
- US /ˌkum.baɪˈjɑ/
- US /ˌkum.bɑˈjɑ/
- US /ˈkʌm.baː.jə/
Kumbaya 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).
What rhymes with kumbaya?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as kumbaya from its last stressed vowel (/ɑ/):
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 kumbaya
- kum ba yah
- kumbayah
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kumbaya mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Used to evoke spiritual unity and interpersonal harmony, with varying degrees of sincerity or sarcasm, as referring to the folk song.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of kumbaya.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does kumbaya come from?
From Gullah. Apparently a corruption of the English phrase “come by here” in a spiritual song.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).