tanto
/ˈtɑntoʊ/noun, adverb
tanto is spelled T-A-N-T-O: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tanto means “A traditional Japanese small sword or knife; often used as a secondary weapon to a katana” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tanto is tantos or tantōs.
How many letters and syllables are in tanto?
| Letters | 5: T-A-N-T-O |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,073rd 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 tanto?
Tanto appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,073rd 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 tanto?
- /ˈtɑntoʊ/
- /ˈtɑntoʊ/
- /ˈtæntoʊ/
As an adverb (“So much; too much”): /ˈtɑntoʊ/, /ˈtæntəʊ/.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-tanto.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tanto?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tanto from its last stressed vowel (/ɑntoʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: natto.
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 tanto
- tantos plural
- tantō
- tantou
- tantōs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tanto mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A traditional Japanese small sword or knife; often used as a secondary weapon to a katana.
adverb
- 1
So much; too much.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of tanto.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does tanto come from?
Borrowed from Japanese 短刀 (tantō), from Middle Chinese 短刀 (twan^X taw, “dagger”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).