pastel
past·el/pæsˈtɛl/noun
pastel is spelled P-A-S-T-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (past·el). It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pastel means “Any of several subdued tints of colors, usually associated with pink, peach, yellow, green, blue, and lavender” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pastel is pastels or pasteles.
How many letters and syllables are in pastel?
| Letters | 6: P-A-S-T-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: past·el |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pastel?
Pastel appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th 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 pastel?
- UK /ˈpæstl̩/
- US /pæsˈtɛl/
As a noun (“A traditional dish in various Latin American countries and…”): /pæsˈtɛl/, /pɑsˈtɛl/.
Pastel has 2 syllables, split past·el in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pastel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pastel?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pastel from its last stressed vowel (/ɛl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: plates, staple, septal.
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 pastel
- pastels plural
- pastille
- pasteles plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pastel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several subdued tints of colors, usually associated with pink, peach, yellow, green, blue, and lavender.
- 2
A drawing made with any of those colors.
- 3
A type of dried paste used to make crayons.
- 4
A crayon made from such a paste.
- 5
Woad.
Wool was dyed in the pastel vat.
- 6
A traditional dish in various Latin American countries and in Indonesia, resembling a tamale, pasty, or calzone.
- 7
A Filipino stew made with vegetables, sausages, and chicken or other meat in a creamy sauce.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pastel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Pastellfarbe |
| Portuguese | pastel |
| Spanish | color pastel, tono pastel |
| French | pastel |
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.