yearning
yearn·ing/ˈjɝnɪŋ/noun, verb
yearning is spelled Y-E-A-R-N-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables (yearn·ing). It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, yearning means “A wistful or melancholy longing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of yearning is yearnings.
How many letters and syllables are in yearning?
| Letters | 8: Y-E-A-R-N-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: yearn·ing |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 yearning?
Yearning appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th 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 yearning?
- US /ˈjɝnɪŋ/
- UK /ˈjɜːnɪŋ/
Yearning has 2 syllables, split yearn·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-yearning.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with yearning?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as yearning from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹnɪŋ/):
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 yearning
- yearnings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does yearning mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A wistful or melancholy longing.
She had a yearning to see her long-lost sister again.
- 2
ScotlandarchaicRennet (an enzyme to curdle milk in order to make cheese).
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of yearn
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Yearning in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense wistful or melancholy longing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | aspiration, envie |
| German | Sehnsucht, großes Verlangen |
| Portuguese | saudade |
| Spanish | anhelo, cuita, añoranza |
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 yearning come from?
From Middle English yerning, from Old English ġierning, ġierninge. Equivalent to the gerund (yearn + -ing). yearn comes from Proto-West Germanic *girnijan, from Proto-Germanic *girnijaną, from *gernaz (“eager, willing”) + *-janą, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to yearn for”). By surface analysis, yearn + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).