uvula
/ˈju.vjəl.ə/noun
uvula is spelled U-V-U-L-A: 5 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 97,057th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, uvula means “Ellipsis of palatine uvula, the fleshy appendage that hangs from the back of the soft palate, that closes the nasopharynx during swallowing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of uvula is uvulae or uvulas; Wiktionary also lists uvulæ (archaic).
How many letters and syllables are in uvula?
| Letters | 5: U-V-U-L-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 97,057th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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).
How common is uvula?
Uvula appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 97,057th 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 uvula?
- UK /ˈjuː.vjʊl.ə/
- US /ˈju.vjəl.ə/
Uvula has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-uvula.wav, En-us-uvula.ogg, En-au-uvula.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with uvula
Sounds like: uvular (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of uvula
- uvulae plural
- uvulas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does uvula mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Ellipsis of palatine uvula, the fleshy appendage that hangs from the back of the soft palate, that closes the nasopharynx during swallowing.
- 2
the slight elevation in the mucous membrane immediately behind the internal urethral orifice of the urinary bladder, caused by the middle lobe of the prostate
- 3
an object so suspended inside a bell that it may hit the bell and cause it to ring; a clapper
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Uvula in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense appendage that hangs from the palate:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | luette, uvule, uvula |
| German | Gaumenzäpfchen, Uvula |
| Portuguese | úvula |
| Spanish | úvula, campanilla, gallillo, galillo |
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 uvula come from?
Borrowed from Late Latin ūvula, diminutive of ūva (“grape”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).