Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pika

/ˈpaɪkə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.57 in modern English

Syllables: pi-ka
IPA: /ˈpaɪkə/

10

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several small, furry mammals, similar to guinea pigs, but related to rabbits, of the genus Ochotona, from the mountains of North America and Asia.

Etymology

From French, from an Evenki word which Peter Simon Pallas transcribes as piika or peeka, but which cannot be found in modern dictionaries. Probably ultimately onomatopoeic. Compare typologically German Pfeifhase (< pfeifen (+ Hase) << Latin pīpō), Czech pišťucha, Russian пищу́ха (piščúxa) (akin to пища́ть (piščátʹ), писк (pisk)).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: -

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpaɪkə/

Inflected Forms

pikas (plural) pica (alternative, archaic)

Phrases

black-lipped pika plateau pika Sardinian pika

Synonyms

mouse hare rock rabbit coney cony

Homonyms

pica

Rhymes With

micah mica pica balalaika

Questions

How do you pronounce pika?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpaɪkə/.
What does pika mean?: Any of several small, furry mammals, similar to guinea pigs, but related to rabbits, of the genus Ochotona, from the mountains of North America and Asia.
Where does pika come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce pika

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