shorthand
short·hand/ˈʃɔɹthænd/noun, verb
shorthand is spelled S-H-O-R-T-H-A-N-D: 9 letters and 2 syllables (short·hand). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shorthand means “A rough and rapid method of writing by substituting symbols for letters, words, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shorthand is shorthands.
How many letters and syllables are in shorthand?
| Letters | 9: S-H-O-R-T-H-A-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: short·hand |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,536th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is shorthand?
Shorthand appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th 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 shorthand?
- UK /ˈʃɔːthænd/
- US /ˈʃɔɹthænd/
Shorthand has 2 syllables, split short·hand in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-shorthand.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shorthand
- shorthands plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- short hand
- short-hand
- shorthanding participle, present
- shorthanded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shorthand mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A rough and rapid method of writing by substituting symbols for letters, words, etc.
- 2
Any brief or shortened way of saying or doing something.
The jargon becomes a shorthand for these advanced concepts.
verb
- 1
To render (spoken or written words) into shorthand.
- 2
To use a brief or shortened way of saying or doing something.
- 3
To write in shorthand.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate shorthand?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of shorthand: shrthnd.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shorthand in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sténographie |
| German | Kurzschrift, Stenografie, Stenographie , Stenogramm |
| Portuguese | estenografia, taquigrafia , resumo |
| Spanish | taquigrafía, estenografía , abreviatura |
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 shorthand come from?
The noun is derived from short + hand (“handwriting; style of penmanship”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).