polka
/ˈpoʊ(l)kə/noun, verb
polka is spelled P-O-L-K-A: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, polka means “A lively dance originating in Bohemia” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of polka is polkas.
How many letters and syllables are in polka?
| Letters | 5: P-O-L-K-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,362nd 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 and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 polka?
Polka appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd 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 polka?
- UK /ˈpɒl.kə/
- US /ˈpoʊ(l)kə/
Polka has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-polka.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with polka?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as polka from its last stressed vowel (/oʊkə/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pokal.
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 polka
- polkas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- polkaing participle, present
- polkaed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does polka mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A lively dance originating in Bohemia.
- 2
The music for this dance.
- 3
A polka jacket.
verb
- 1
To dance the polka.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Polka in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense dance:
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 polka come from?
Via French and German from Czech polka, variant of půlka (“half”) as in "half-step"; see půl (“half”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).