tango
tan·go/ˈtæ̝ŋɡoʊ̯/noun, verb
tango is spelled T-A-N-G-O: 5 letters and 2 syllables (tan·go). It appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tango means “A standard ballroom dance in 4/4 time; or a social dance, the Argentine tango” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tango is tangos or tangoes.
How many letters and syllables are in tango?
| Letters | 5: T-A-N-G-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tan·go |
| In writing | 3.8 times per million words; the 13,321st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| 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 tango?
Tango appears 3.8 times per million words in written English, the 13,321st 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 tango?
- UK /ˈtæ̞ŋɡəʊ̯/
- UK [ˈtʰæ̞ŋɡəʊ̯]
- US /ˈtæ̝ŋɡoʊ̯/
Tango has 2 syllables, split tan·go in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-tango.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tango?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tango from its last stressed vowel (/æŋɡoʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tonga.
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 tango
- tangos plural
- tangoes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tangoing participle, present
- tangoed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tango mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A standard ballroom dance in 4/4 time; or a social dance, the Argentine tango.
- 2
A Spanish flamenco dance with different steps from the Argentine.
- 3
A piece of music suited to such a dance.
- 4
A dark orange colour shade; deep tangerine
- 5
Alternative letter-case form of Tango from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
- 6
USslangA target; an enemy.
Tango down!
verb
- 1
To dance the tango.
- 2
slangTo mingle or interact (with each other).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tango in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ballroom dance:
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 tango come from?
Borrowed from Rioplatense Spanish tango, probably from a Niger-Congo language (compare Ibibio tamgu (“to dance”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).