Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

niff

/nɪf/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.15 in modern English

Syllables: niff
IPA: /nɪf/

10

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Australian usage; New Zealand usage; British usage; Informal

noun

A sulk or sullen mood.

verb

To smell bad; to stink.

Informal

Example Sentences

"Whew, there's a bit of a niff in here. Is that your socks?"
"Police helicopters blared loudspeaker warnings about the smelly man. Soon afterwards, a nosy motel receptionist noticed a nasty niff from a new guest."
"'I don't see you need to get in such a niff,' said Katie."

Usage

Inflected Forms

niffs (plural) niffs (present, singular) niffing (participle, present) niffed (participle, past) niffed (past)

Derived Forms

niffy

Phrases

niff-naff niff-naffy

Frequently Paired Words

niff-naff niff-naffy

Synonyms

pong

Rhymes With

if as if cliff stiff gif working stiff sniff riff whiff diff tiff biff

Questions

How do you pronounce niff?: The recorded pronunciation is /nɪf/.
What does niff mean?: A bad smell.

How to pronounce niff

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