Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

semla

/ˈsɛmlə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.22 in modern English

Syllables: sem-la
IPA: /ˈsɛmlə/

7

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A pastry with a cream and almond paste filling, traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday in Sweden, Finland and Estonia.

Etymology

From Swedish semla, ultimately from Latin simila (“finest quality wheat flour”), through Old Swedish. Doublet of semola and semel; compare semolina.

Origin

Source language: Swedish

Word Breakdown

Root: semla, simila, -

Inflected Forms

semlas (plural)

Questions

How do you pronounce semla?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɛmlə/.
What does semla mean?: A pastry with a cream and almond paste filling, traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday in Sweden, Finland and Estonia.
Where does semla come from?: It is traced to Swedish.

How to pronounce semla

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