Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shum

/ʃˈʌm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.30 in modern English

Syllables: shum
IPA: /ʃˈʌm/

9

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Etymology

Borrowed from Cantonese 岑 (sam4) or Cantonese 沈 (sam2), when the initial was still [ɕ] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Word Breakdown

Root: 岑, 沈

Inflected Forms

Shums (plural)

Homonyms

schumm schum

Rhymes With

from some come become dumb mum sum um drum cum thumb gum

Questions

How do you pronounce shum?: The recorded pronunciation is /ʃˈʌm/.
What does shum mean?: A surname.
Where does shum come from?: Borrowed from Cantonese 岑 (sam4) or Cantonese 沈 (sam2), when the initial was still [ɕ] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

How to pronounce shum

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