Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hiraeth

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.17 in modern English

Syllables: hi-raeth
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A feeling of homesickness, longing or yearning for something comfortable or familiar, especially in a Welsh context.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"So this hiraeth is good in some sense , although you feel the evil of it perhaps the moment that I am writing this."
"Biblical hiraeth - the longing for an idealized biblical home that may have never existed - intersects with authenticity and the hyperreality of the theme park."

Etymology

Borrowed from Welsh hiraeth (“longing, nostalgia”).

Usage

Uncountable

Questions

What does hiraeth mean?: A feeling of homesickness, longing or yearning for something comfortable or familiar, especially in a Welsh context.
Where does hiraeth come from?: Borrowed from Welsh hiraeth (“longing, nostalgia”).

How to pronounce hiraeth

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hiraeth”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hiraeth”.
Repeat and practice — Say “hiraeth” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.