nostalgia
/nɑˈstæld͡ʒə/noun
nostalgia is spelled N-O-S-T-A-L-G-I-A: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nostalgia means “A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nostalgia is nostalgias.
How many letters and syllables are in nostalgia?
| Letters | 9: N-O-S-T-A-L-G-I-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.2 times per million words; the 12,578th 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 nostalgia?
Nostalgia appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th 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 nostalgia?
- UK /nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/
- US /nɑˈstæld͡ʒə/
- US /nəˈstæld͡ʒə/
Nostalgia 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nostalgia.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-nostalgia.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nostalgia
- nostalgias plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nostalgia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
Seeing food at camp similar to his mother's cooking sent a wave of nostalgia through him.
- 2
A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.
an alumnus' feelings of nostalgia for his/her years in high school
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nostalgia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense bittersweet yearning for the things of the past:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nostalgie |
| German | Nostalgie, Wehmut |
| Portuguese | nostalgia, saudade |
| Spanish | nostalgia, añoranza |
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 nostalgia come from?
From New Latin nostalgia, coined by Johannes Hofer in 1688 from Ancient Greek νόστος (nóstos, “returning home”) + ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”), calquing German Heimweh. Ancient Greek *νοσταλγία (*nostalgía) is unattested. Transferred sense probably influenced by French nostalgie, especially in literature.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).