pidgin
/ˈpɪ.d͡ʒən/noun
pidgin is spelled P-I-D-G-I-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pidgin means “An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pidgin is pidgins.
How many letters and syllables are in pidgin?
| Letters | 6: P-I-D-G-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 50,539th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pidgin?
Pidgin appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th 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 pidgin?
- UK /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/
- US /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒən/
Pidgin has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pidgin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pidgin
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with pidgin?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pidgin from its last stressed vowel (/ɪdʒən/):
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 pidgin
- pidgins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pidgin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.
- 2
archaicA person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pidgin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pidgin, créole, langue véhiculaire |
| German | Pidgin, Pidginsprache, Pidgin-Sprache |
| Portuguese | pidgin |
| Spanish | pidgin |
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 pidgin come from?
From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. All attestations of pidgin from the first half of the nineteenth century given in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary mean “business; an action, occupation, or affair” (the earliest being from 1807).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).