paragraph
par·a·graph/ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/noun, verb
paragraph is spelled P-A-R-A-G-R-A-P-H: 9 letters and 3 syllables (par·a·graph). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, paragraph means “A passage in text that starts on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented, and usually marks a change of topic” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of paragraph is paragraphs.
How many letters and syllables are in paragraph?
| Letters | 9: P-A-R-A-G-R-A-P-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: par·a·graph |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,784th 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 paragraph?
Paragraph appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th 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 paragraph?
- UK /ˈpæɹəɡɹɑːf/
- US /ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/
- /ˈpɛɹəɡɹæf/
Paragraph has 3 syllables, split par·a·graph in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ne-paragraph.ogg, En-us-paragraph.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of paragraph
- paragraphs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- paragraphing participle, present
- paragraphed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paragraph mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A passage in text that starts on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented, and usually marks a change of topic.
opening paragraph
- 2
A mark or note set in the margin to call attention to something in the text, such as a change of subject.
- 3
A brief article, notice, or announcement, as in a newspaper.
- 4
An offset of 16 bytes in Intel memory architectures.
verb
- 1
To sort text into paragraphs.
- 2
To publish a brief article, notice, or announcement, as in a newspaper.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate paragraph?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of paragraph: par, para, para..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paragraph in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense passage in text:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | paragraphe, alinéa |
| German | Absatz, Paragraph |
| Portuguese | parágrafo |
| Spanish | párrafo, parágrafo, acápite |
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 paragraph come from?
From Middle English paragraf, from Middle French paragraphe from Latin paragraphus (“sign for start of a new section of discourse”), from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos), from παρά (pará, “beside”) and γράφω (gráphō, “to write”). Doublet of paragraphos.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).