tadpole
/ˈtædpoʊl/noun
tadpole is spelled T-A-D-P-O-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tadpole means “A young toad or frog in its larval stage of development that lives in water, has a tail and no legs, and, like a fish, breathes through gills” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tadpole is tadpoles.
How many letters and syllables are in tadpole?
| Letters | 7: T-A-D-P-O-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th 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 tadpole?
Tadpole appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th 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 tadpole?
- /ˈtædpoʊl/
Tadpole 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)-Vealhurl-tadpole.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tadpole
- tadpoles plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tadpole mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A young toad or frog in its larval stage of development that lives in water, has a tail and no legs, and, like a fish, breathes through gills.
- 2
The aquatic larva of any amphibian.
salamander tadpole
- 3
A type of cargo bike that has two wheels in front and one in back.
- 4
A child's basic drawing of a human being, having a detailed head but only sticks for the body and limbs.
- 5
informalA small child.
- 6
derogatoryinformalAn insignificant person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tadpole in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense toad or frog larva:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | têtard |
| German | Kaulquappe |
| Portuguese | girino |
| Spanish | renacuajo, ranacuajo, ajolote, atepocate |
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 tadpole come from?
From Middle English tadpolle, taddepol, equivalent to toad + poll (“head”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).