Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

manila

/məˈnɪl.ə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.88 in modern English

Syllables: ma-ni-la
IPA: /məˈnɪl.ə/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

The capital city of the Philippines; the regional capital of Metro Manila, in the island of Luzon.

name

Metro Manila, the National Capital Region (NCR).

name

the entirety of Luzon.

name

The national government or administrative authority of the Philippines.

name

A small town, the county seat of Daggett County, Utah, United States.

name

A census-designated place in Humboldt County, California, United States.

name

A city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States.

noun

Venerupis philippinarum; a Pacific clam.

Example Sentences

"Chinese traders, mostly from the southern ports of Amoy (Hsia-men) and Canton, took raw silk, fabrics, and apparel to Manila, where these cargoes were sold for silver and carried back for sale in the New World."
"PNR trips were suspended at past 1 p.m. after the temblor struck Camarines Norte, but was felt in the city of Manila at Intensity 3."
"a manila envelope"

Etymology

From Spanish Manila, from Tagalog Maynila, from may (“there is”) + nila (“indigo”), Tagalog nila from Sanskrit नील (nīla).

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: Manila, Maynila, नील

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /məˈnɪl.ə/
British English: /məˈnɪl.ə/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

Maynila (alternative, nonstandard) May-nilad (alternative, historical) Manilla (alternative, archaic) Manilas (plural)

Derived Forms

manila nonmanila

Phrases

Manila bean Manila cheroot Manila cigar manila envelope manila folder Manila hemp manila paper New Manila

Synonyms

manila paper manilla manilla paper

Rhymes With

villa vanilla gorilla guerrilla godzilla camilla sevilla priscilla padilla guerilla attila flotilla

Questions

How do you pronounce manila?: The recorded pronunciation is /məˈnɪl.ə/.
What does manila mean?: The capital city of the Philippines; the regional capital of Metro Manila, in the island of Luzon.
Where does manila come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce manila

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