Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

babka

/ˈbɑb.kə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.74 in modern English

Syllables: bab-ka
IPA: /ˈbɑb.kə/

13

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins; or with some single flavoring, such as chocolate or lemon.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"These festive, fudgy confections are a mash-up of two traditional Jewish favorites: rugelach and chocolate babka."
"And while you’re there, you can pick up a babka, which you’ve heard about (a twisted, sweet chocolate loaf) and a bag of rugelach which you might not have (crescent-shaped chocolate pastries)."
"A couple of weeks ago, my family and I also travelled an hour or so to sample the babkas and honey croissants at Farro bakery in Bristol."

Etymology

From a Slavic language likely via Yiddish באַבקע (babke). Compare baba (“rum soaked cake”).

Origin

Source language: Yiddish

Word Breakdown

Root: -, באַבקע

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbɑb.kə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

babkas (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce babka?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɑb.kə/.
What does babka mean?: A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins; or with some single flavoring, such as chocolate or lemon.
Where does babka come from?: It is traced to Yiddish.

How to pronounce babka

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