Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

count sheep

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.10 in modern English

Syllables
coun-t sheep
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To attempt to go to sleep by thinking of something boring, traditionally by counting imaginary sheep.

Etymology

See count and sheep. Stories of counting sheep to sleep extend back to at least as early as 12th-century Spain and 13th-century Italy from prior Arab stories.

Inflected Forms

counts sheep (present, singular) counting sheep (participle, present) counted sheep (participle, past) counted sheep (past)

Questions

What does count sheep mean?
To attempt to go to sleep by thinking of something boring, traditionally by counting imaginary sheep.
Where does count sheep come from?
See count and sheep. Stories of counting sheep to sleep extend back to at least as early as 12th-century Spain and 13th-century Italy from prior Arab stories.

How to pronounce count sheep

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