thou
/ðaʊ/verb, noun
thou is spelled T-H-O-U: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, thou means “To address (a person) using the pronoun thou, especially as an expression of contempt or familiarity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thou?
| Letters | 4: T-H-O-U |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,496th 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 and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 thou?
Thou appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th 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 thou?
- US /ðaʊ/
As a noun (“A unit of length equal to one thousandth of an inch (25.4…”): /θaʊ/.
Thou has one syllable (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: En-us-thou.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-thou_(number).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with thou
Also written: thu.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with thou?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as thou from its last stressed vowel (/aʊ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hout.
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 thou
- thous present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- thouing participle, present
- thoued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thou mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To address (a person) using the pronoun thou, especially as an expression of contempt or familiarity.
Don’t thou them as thous thee! – a Yorkshire English admonition to overly familiar children
- 2
To use the word thou.
noun
- 1
A unit of length equal to one thousandth of an inch (25.4 µm).
We just wanted to take off a few thou, which we easily did with fine sandpaper.
- 2
slangA thousand, especially a thousand of some currency (dollars, pounds sterling, etc.).
Whoa there, big spender – that'll cost you a few thou. Are you sure you can afford it?
pronoun
- 1
Honorific alternative letter-case form of thou, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate thou?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of thou: th'.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thou in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to address (a person) using the familiar second-person pronoun:
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 thou come from?
From Late Middle English thouen, theu, thew, thou, thowe, thowen, thui, thuy (“to address (a person) with thou, particularly in a contemptuous or polite manner”), from the pronoun thou: see etymology 1 above.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).