tricky
/ˈtɹɪk.i/adjective
tricky is spelled T-R-I-C-K-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tricky means “Hard to deal with, complicated” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tricky?
| Letters | 6: T-R-I-C-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.1 times per million words; the 7,553rd 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 tricky?
Tricky appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd 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 tricky?
- /ˈtɹɪk.i/
Tricky 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: En-us-tricky.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-tricky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tricky
- trickier comparative
- trickiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tricky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Hard to deal with, complicated.
They were in a tricky situation.
- 2
Adept at using deception.
A tricky salesman can sell anything.
- 3
colloquialslangRelating to or associated with a prostitution trick.
I don't want any of your tricky money, thank you!
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tricky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | épineux, compliqué, complexe, délicat , rusé, malin |
| German | schwierig, heikel , gerissen |
| Portuguese | complicado , truqueiro |
| Spanish | dificultoso, chungo, se las trae, tener su intríngulis, enredoso, pantanoso |
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 tricky come from?
From trick + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).