Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mancala

/mɑnkˈɑlə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.61 in modern English

Syllables: man-cala
IPA: /mɑnkˈɑlə/

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of various board games, common throughout Africa and Asia, in which a move consists of emptying a pit and then its contents are sown one by one into ensuing pits.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Mameh could sit on the floor to play board games like mancala with her friends, or roll out a mat and lounge about."

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مَنْقَلَة (manqala).

Usage

Inflected Forms

mancalas (plural)

Rhymes With

allah guatemala kerala corolla impala koala scala lala kampala alla bala mala

Questions

How do you pronounce mancala?: The recorded pronunciation is /mɑnkˈɑlə/.
What does mancala mean?: Any of various board games, common throughout Africa and Asia, in which a move consists of emptying a pit and then its contents are sown one by one into ensuing pits.
Where does mancala come from?: Borrowed from Arabic مَنْقَلَة (manqala).

How to pronounce mancala

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