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mama

ma·ma/ˈmæmə/noun, interjection, verb

mama is spelled M-A-M-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables (ma·ma). It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “mama vs mamma” about 1,000 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, mama means “Synonym of mother (“a female parent”)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mama is mamas.

How many letters and syllables are in mama?

Letters4: M-A-M-A
Syllables2: ma·ma
In writing17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with
Same letters

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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is mama?

Mama appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd 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 mama?

  • UK /ˈmʌmə/
  • UK /ˈmɑː-/
  • US /ˈmæmə/

As an interjection (“Often preceded by oh: used to express approval, joy…”): /ˈmæmə/, /ˈmʌ-/, /məˈmɑː/.

Mama has 2 syllables, split ma·ma in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mama.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-mama.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-mama.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with mama

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

mama vs mamma1,000 G
mama vs momma590 G
mama vs mumma0 B

Also written: ma ma (one word or two), mamma, momma, mumma.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with mama?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mama from its last stressed vowel (/æmə/, British pronunciation):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: amma.

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 mama

  • mamas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • mamma
  • momma
  • mumma
  • mamaing participle, present
  • mamaed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does mama mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    CanadaUSSynonym of mother (“a female parent”).

    I love the cookies which mama bakes me every week.

  2. 2

    CanadaUSSynonym of mother (“an origin, a source”).

  3. 3

    CanadaUSobsoleteUsed preceding a name as a title for a mother.

  4. 4

    A lesbian partner.

  5. 5

    informalUsed as a (respectful) term of address for a woman, especially an older one.

  6. 6

    slangA girlfriend.

  7. 7

    slangA wife.

    I need to talk to mama before I buy the car.

  8. 8

    slangA woman regarded as sexually attractive or (derogatory) promiscuous.

    Whoa, that chick in the bikini is a real mama!

  9. 9

    informalSynonym of mother (“a female parent”).

  10. 10

    informalUsed as a (respectful) term of address for one's mother.

  11. 11

    informalA middle-aged black woman.

  12. 12

    informalOften in the form Mama: used as a (respectful) term of address for an adult woman.

interjection

  1. 1

    USOften preceded by oh: used to express approval, joy, surprise, etc.

verb

  1. 1

    informalSynonym of mother (“to treat (someone) as a mother would be expected to treat her child; to nurture”).

  2. 2

    informalobsoleterareTo call (someone) "mama" (noun sense).

  3. 3

    informalTo call out "mama".

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Where does mama come from?

Borrowed from Xhosa umama and Zulu umama, sometimes only distinguishable from English mama (see etymology 1) by the context and pronunciation.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after mama