pahoehoe
/pəˈhoʊ.i.hoʊ.i/noun
pahoehoe is spelled P-A-H-O-E-H-O-E: 8 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 74 million words in written English, the 272,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pahoehoe means “A form of lava flow of basaltic rock, usually dark-colored with a smooth or ropey surface. It is one of two chief forms of lava flow emitted from…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pahoehoe is pahoehoes.
How many letters and syllables are in pahoehoe?
| Letters | 8: P-A-H-O-E-H-O-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 74 million words; the 272,462nd 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 pahoehoe?
Pahoehoe appears about once in every 74 million words in written English, the 272,462nd 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 pahoehoe?
- UK /pəˈhəʊihəʊi/
- US /pəˈhoʊ.i.hoʊ.i/
- US /pɑːˈhoʊ.eɪ.hoʊ.eɪ/
Pahoehoe has 5 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of pahoehoe
- pahoehoes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pahoehoe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A form of lava flow of basaltic rock, usually dark-colored with a smooth or ropey surface. It is one of two chief forms of lava flow emitted from volcanoes of the Hawaiian type, the other form being aa.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pahoehoe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense form of lava flow:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Pahoehoe-Lava, Fladenlava |
| Portuguese | lava encordoada, pahoehoe |
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 pahoehoe come from?
Borrowed from Hawaiian pāhoehoe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).