nunchaku
nun·cha·ku/nʌnˈt͡ʃɑku/noun
nunchaku is spelled N-U-N-C-H-A-K-U: 8 letters and 3 syllables (nun·cha·ku). It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nunchaku means “A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nunchaku is nunchakus.
How many letters and syllables are in nunchaku?
| Letters | 8: N-U-N-C-H-A-K-U |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: nun·cha·ku |
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 133,440th 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; 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 nunchaku?
Nunchaku appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th 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 nunchaku?
- UK /nʌnˈtʃækuː/
- UK /nʌnˈtʃɑːkuː/
- US /nʌnˈt͡ʃɑku/
Nunchaku has 3 syllables, split nun·cha·ku in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nunchaku.wav, En-us-nunchaku.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nunchaku?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nunchaku from its last stressed vowel (/ɑku/):
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 nunchaku
- nunchakus plural
- numchuck
- num-chuk
- nunchuck
- nunchuk
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nunchaku mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord.
- 2
The skill of using this weapon in martial arts.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nunchaku in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense weapon consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nunchaku |
| German | Nunchaku |
| Portuguese | nunchaku |
| Spanish | nunchaku, chaco |
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 nunchaku come from?
Borrowed from Okinawan 双節棍 (nunchaku) (compare Japanese 双節棍 (nunchaku)), probably from Hokkien 兩節棍 /两节棍 (nn̄g-chat-kùn, literally “two-segment cudgel”), from 兩 /两 (nn̄g, “two”) + 節 /节 (chat, “joint; link; segment”) + 棍 (kùn, “cudgel; stick”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).