opera
/ˈɑp.ə.ɹə/noun
opera is spelled O-P-E-R-A: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,521st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, opera means “A theatrical work, combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance; usually, one sung-through, based on classical music and seen as more artistic…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of opera is operas or opere.
How many letters and syllables are in opera?
| Letters | 5: O-P-E-R-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 19 times per million words; the 4,521st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is opera?
Opera appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,521st 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 opera?
- UK /ˈɒp.ə.ɹə/
- UK /ˈɒp.ɹə/
- US /ˈɑp.ə.ɹə/
Opera 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: En-us-opera.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with opera?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as opera (/ɑpəɹə/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pareo.
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 opera
- operas plural
- opere plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does opera mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A theatrical work, combining drama, music, song and sometimes dance; usually, one sung-through, based on classical music and seen as more artistic and formalized than other forms of musical theater.
- 2
The score for such a work.
- 3
The genre of such works, the art of composing operas.
- 4
A building designed for the performance of such works; an opera house.
- 5
A company dedicated to performing such works.
- 6
Any showy, melodramatic or unrealistic production resembling an opera.
- 7
plural of opus; a collection of work.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Opera in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 opera come from?
Borrowed from Italian opera. Doublet of oeuvre, opus, and ure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).