Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bonobo

/bəˈnoʊ̯ˌboʊ̯/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.38 in modern English

Syllables
bo-no-bo
IPA
/bəˈnoʊ̯ˌboʊ̯/
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A great ape, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.

Etymology

From Bolobo, a village on the Congo River where Europeans first made contact with the species. Bolobo is possibly imitative of the bubbling of the rapids at that section of the Congo.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /bəˈnoʊ̯ˌboʊ̯/
  • British English: /bəˈnəʊ̯ˌbəʊ̯/

Inflected Forms

bonobos (plural)

Synonyms

dwarf chimpanzee hippie chimp pygmy chimpanzee pan paniscus

Rhymes With

abo sabo szabo labo picabo

Questions

How do you pronounce bonobo?
The recorded pronunciation is /bəˈnoʊ̯ˌboʊ̯/.
What does bonobo mean?
A great ape, Pan paniscus, from Africa south of the Congo river.
Where does bonobo come from?
From Bolobo, a village on the Congo River where Europeans first made contact with the species. Bolobo is possibly imitative of the bubbling of the rapids at that section of the Congo.

How to pronounce bonobo

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