saying
say·ing/ˈseɪ.ɪŋ/noun, verb
saying is spelled S-A-Y-I-N-G: 6 letters and 2 syllables (say·ing). It appears 234 times per million words in written English, the 425th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, saying means “A proverb or maxim” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of saying is sayings.
How many letters and syllables are in saying?
| Letters | 6: S-A-Y-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: say·ing |
| In writing | 234 times per million words; the 425th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is saying?
Saying appears 234 times per million words in written English, the 425th 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 saying?
- US /ˈseɪ.ɪŋ/
Saying has 2 syllables, split say·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-saying.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with saying?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as saying from its last stressed vowel (/eɪɪŋ/):
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 saying
- sayings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does saying mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A proverb or maxim.
- 2
obsoleteThat which is said; an utterance.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of say
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Saying in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense proverb or maxim:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dicton |
| German | Sprichwort, Ausspruch, Redensart |
| Portuguese | ditado, provérbio |
| Spanish | dicho, proverbio, refrán, retraher, adagio |
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 saying come from?
From say + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).