shiva
/ˈʃɪvə/noun
shiva is spelled S-H-I-V-A: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shiva means “A weeklong period of formal mourning for a close relative” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shiva is shivas.
How many letters and syllables are in shiva?
| Letters | 5: S-H-I-V-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is shiva?
Shiva appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th 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 shiva?
- US /ˈʃɪvə/
Shiva 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)-Flame,_not_lame-shiva.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shiva
- shivas plural
- shibah
- shiv'ah
- shivah
- shive
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shiva mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A weeklong period of formal mourning for a close relative.
Seymour: Audrey, quick! We've got to do an emergency [flower] arrangement. […] Mr. Mushnik: The Shivas are our most important funereal account. A big, enormous family, they're dropping off like flies!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shiva in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense period of mourning:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | shivá |
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 shiva come from?
From Hebrew שִׁבְעָה (shiv'á, “seven”), referring to the number of days that shiva spans. The pronunciation is likely in part from Yiddish שבֿעה (shive).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).