twinkle
/ˈtwɪŋ.kəl/verb, noun
twinkle is spelled T-W-I-N-K-L-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, twinkle means “To shine with a flickering light; to glimmer” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in twinkle?
| Letters | 7: T-W-I-N-K-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd 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 twinkle?
Twinkle appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd 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 twinkle?
- /ˈtwɪŋ.kəl/
Twinkle 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-twinkle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of twinkle
- twinkles present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- twinkling participle, present
- twinkled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does twinkle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To shine with a flickering light; to glimmer.
We could see the lights of the village twinkling in the distance.
- 2
To be bright with delight.
His shrewd little eyes twinkled roguishly.
- 3
To bat, blink or wink the eyes.
- 4
To flit to and fro.
noun
- 1
A sparkle or glimmer of light.
- 2
A sparkle of delight in the eyes.
He was a rotund, jolly man with a twinkle in his eye.
- 3
A flitting movement.
- 4
colloquialA brief moment; a twinkling.
- 5
The female genitalia.
The popular Swedish cartoon song about genitals was translated as "Willie and Twinkle".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Twinkle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | briller , cligner , virevolter , zézette, foufoune |
| German | funkeln , zwinkern , Mumu |
| Portuguese | cintilar, tremeluzir , pepeca, perereca |
| Spanish | titilar, escintilar , chichi, chochete , fulgurar, refulgir |
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 twinkle come from?
From Middle English twinclen, twynclen, from Old English twinclian (“to twinkle”), equivalent to twink (“to wink; blink; twinkle”) + -le (frequentative suffix). Compare German zwinkern (“to wink; twinkle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).