shuriken
/ˈʃɝ.ɪ.kən/noun
shuriken is spelled S-H-U-R-I-K-E-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shuriken means “A dart or throwing blade, sometimes with multiple points, used as a weapon by ninja (or samurai)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shuriken is shurikens.
How many letters and syllables are in shuriken?
| Letters | 8: S-H-U-R-I-K-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th 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 shuriken?
Shuriken appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th 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 shuriken?
- /ˈʃuː.ɹɪ.kən/
- /ˈʃʊə.ɹɪ.kən/
- US /ˈʃɝ.ɪ.kən/
Shuriken has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of shuriken
- shurikens plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shuriken mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A dart or throwing blade, sometimes with multiple points, used as a weapon by ninja (or samurai).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shuriken in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a ninja weapon:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | shuriken |
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 shuriken come from?
From Japanese 手裏剣 (しゅりけん shuriken), from Middle Chinese 手 (ʃúw "hand") + 裏 (lí "inside") + 劍 (kjæ̀m "sword").
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).