tapas
tap·as/ˈtæpəs/noun
tapas is spelled T-A-P-A-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables (tap·as). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tapas means “A variety of Spanish small savoury food items or snacks such as croquettes, cured meat, potato salad, and seafood, originally served with sherry and…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tapas?
| Letters | 5: T-A-P-A-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tap·as |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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 tapas?
Tapas appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th 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 tapas?
- UK /ˈtæpæs/
- UK /-pəs/
- US /ˈtæpəs/
As a noun (“(The practice of) asceticism and self-discipline”): /ˈtæp.æs/, /ˈtæp.əs/, /ˈt̪ɐ.pɐs/.
Tapas has 2 syllables, split tap·as in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-tapas.wav, En-us-tapas.ogg, En-us-ncalif-tapas.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tapas?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as tapas (/æpəs/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pasta.
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 tapas
- tapa singular
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tapas mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A variety of Spanish small savoury food items or snacks such as croquettes, cured meat, potato salad, and seafood, originally served with sherry and now often with other alcoholic beverages as well.
- 2
(The practice of) asceticism and self-discipline.
- 3
plural of tapa
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tapas in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense variety of Spanish small savoury food items or snacks, originally served with sh:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tapas |
| Portuguese | tapas, petiscos |
| Spanish | tapas |
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 tapas come from?
From Spanish tapas, the plural of tapa (“appetizer, tapa; cap, lid (cover of a container)”) (from the fact that plates of tapas were originally placed on the tops of glasses of alcoholic beverages as lids), from Gothic *𐍄𐌰𐍀𐍀𐌰 (*tappa), from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“plug; tap”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- (“to lose; to sacrifice”). Doublet of tap.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).