Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tenno

/ˈtɛnəʊ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.91 in modern English

Syllables: ten-no
IPA: /ˈtɛnəʊ/

5

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The emperor of Japan as head of state and the head of the Japanese imperial family.

name

Alternative form of tenno.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 天皇(てんのう) (tennō), from Middle Chinese 天皇 (then hwang) with the original sense of “heavenly sovereign”.

Word Breakdown

Root: 天皇

Inflected Forms

tennos (plural) Tennou (alternative) ten'no (alternative)

Phrases

Chrysanthemum Throne

Frequently Paired Words

Chrysanthemum Throne

Synonyms

mikado God Emperor

Rhymes With

reno

Questions

How do you pronounce tenno?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɛnəʊ/.
What does tenno mean?: The emperor of Japan as head of state and the head of the Japanese imperial family.
Where does tenno come from?: Borrowed from Japanese 天皇(てんのう) (tennō), from Middle Chinese 天皇 (then hwang) with the original sense of “heavenly sovereign”.

How to pronounce tenno

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