liking
/ˈlaɪkɪŋ/noun, verb
liking is spelled L-I-K-I-N-G: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, liking means “A like; a predilection” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of liking is likings.
How many letters and syllables are in liking?
| Letters | 6: L-I-K-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.8 times per million words; the 7,224th 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 liking?
Liking appears 9.8 times per million words in written English, the 7,224th 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 liking?
- /ˈlaɪkɪŋ/
Liking has 2 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-liking.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of liking
- likings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does liking mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A like; a predilection.
- 2
archaicApproval.
goods bought on liking
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of like
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Liking in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense like, predilection:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | goût, sympathie |
| German | Geschmack, Interesse, Neigung, Sympathie, Vorliebe, Zuneigung |
| Portuguese | gosto |
| Spanish | agrado, agradamiento, gusto |
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 liking come from?
From Middle English likinge, from Old English līcung (“pleasing; pleasure; gratification; liking”), equivalent to like + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).