paradigm
par·a·digm/ˈpæɹ.ə.daɪm/noun
paradigm is spelled P-A-R-A-D-I-G-M: 8 letters and 3 syllables (par·a·digm). It appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, paradigm means “A pattern, a way of doing something; especially a pattern of thought, a system of beliefs, a conceptual framework” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of paradigm is paradigms or paradigmata.
How many letters and syllables are in paradigm?
| Letters | 8: P-A-R-A-D-I-G-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: par·a·digm |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th 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 paradigm?
Paradigm appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th 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 paradigm?
- UK /ˈpæɹ.ə.daɪm/
- /ˈpæɹ.ə.daɪm/
- /ˈpɛɹ.ə.daɪm/
Paradigm has 3 syllables, split par·a·digm in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-paradigm.ogg, En-au-paradigm.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of paradigm
- paradigms plural
- paradigmata plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paradigm mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A pattern, a way of doing something; especially a pattern of thought, a system of beliefs, a conceptual framework.
Near-synonyms: style, model, worldview
- 2
An example serving as the model for such a pattern; an exceptionally good or prototypical example of a pattern or group.
Near-synonyms: template, exemplar, archetype, poster child; see also Thesaurus:exemplar, Thesaurus:model
- 3
A set of all forms which contain a common element, especially the set of all inflectional forms of a word or a particular grammatical category.
The paradigm of "to sing" is "sing, sang, sung". The verb "to ring" follows the same paradigm.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paradigm in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | paradigme |
| German | Paradigma, Weltanschauung, Bezugssystem, Sicht der Dinge, Denkrahmen , Beispiel |
| Portuguese | paradigma |
| Spanish | paradigma |
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 paradigm come from?
From Middle English paradygme, from Late Latin paradīgma, from Ancient Greek παράδειγμα (parádeigma, “pattern”), from παραδείκνυμι (paradeíknumi, “I show [beside] or compare”) + -μα (-ma, suffix forming nouns concerning the results of actions). Doublet of paradigma.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).