paradiddle
/ˈpæɹəˌdɪdəl/noun, verb
paradiddle is spelled P-A-R-A-D-I-D-D-L-E: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 68 million words in written English, the 258,950th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, paradiddle means “A percussive exercise (one of 26 drum rudiments per the National Association of Rudimental Drummers or one of 40 per the Percussive Arts Society)…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of paradiddle is paradiddles.
How many letters and syllables are in paradiddle?
| Letters | 10: P-A-R-A-D-I-D-D-L-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 68 million words; the 258,950th 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 paradiddle?
Paradiddle appears about once in every 68 million words in written English, the 258,950th 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 paradiddle?
- /ˈpæɹəˌdɪdəl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-paradiddle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of paradiddle
- paradiddles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- paradiddling participle, present
- paradiddled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paradiddle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A percussive exercise (one of 26 drum rudiments per the National Association of Rudimental Drummers or one of 40 per the Percussive Arts Society) which involves playing four even strokes in the order ‘right left right right’ or ‘left right left left.’
verb
- 1
To produce percussive sounds of this kind.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paradiddle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense percussive exercise:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | moulin |
| German | Paradiddle |
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.