matatu
ma·ta·tu/məˈtɑˌtu/noun
matatu is spelled M-A-T-A-T-U: 6 letters and 3 syllables (ma·ta·tu). It appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 136,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, matatu means “A minivan used as a shared taxi, especially one operating without a licence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of matatu is matatus.
How many letters and syllables are in matatu?
| Letters | 6: M-A-T-A-T-U |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ma·ta·tu |
| In writing | about once in every 20 million words; the 136,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is matatu?
Matatu appears about once in every 20 million words in written English, the 136,649th 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 matatu?
- UK /məˈtætuː/
- US /məˈtɑˌtu/
Matatu has 3 syllables, split ma·ta·tu in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-matatu.wav, Sw-ke-matatu.flac, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of matatu
- matatus plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matatu mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A minivan used as a shared taxi, especially one operating without a licence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does matatu come from?
Borrowed from Swahili matatu, from ma- + -tatu (“three”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).