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semi

/ˈsɛmi/noun, adverb

semi is spelled S-E-M-I: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, semi means “A semi-detached house” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of semi is semis.

How many letters and syllables are in semi?

Letters4: S-E-M-I
Syllables1
In writing32 times per million words; the 2,941st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
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 semi?

Semi appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st 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 semi?

  • UK /ˈsɛmi/
  • US /ˈsɛmi/
  • US /ˈsɛmaɪ/

Semi has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-semi.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-semi.wav, En-us-semi-.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with semi?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as semi (/ɛmi/).

Spelled with the same letters in another order: mise.

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 semi

  • semis plural
  • sem-

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does semi mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    AustraliaCanadaIrelandUKinformalA semi-detached house.

  2. 2

    AustraliaCanadaUSA semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer; an eighteen-wheeler; an artic.

  3. 3

    informalA semifinal.

  4. 4

    slangA partial erection of the penis.

  5. 5

    slangA semiautomatic firearm.

  6. 6

    slangSemiconductor companies or positions in the stock market.

  7. 7

    colloquialAn intermediate in the production of end-use goods.

adverb

  1. 1

    informalSomewhat; to some extent.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Semi in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdemi-molle (semi-erection), semi-, demi-, à moitié (half (prefix) – see also half-, hemi-, demi-)
Portuguesemeia-bomba (semi-erection), semi- (half (prefix) – see also half-, hemi-, demi-)
Germanhalb, semi- (half (prefix) – see also half-, hemi-, demi-)
Spanishsemi-, hemi- (half (prefix) – see also half-, hemi-, demi-)

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 semi come from?

The prefix semi- (from Latin) used as a noun.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after semi