Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

taiko

/ˈtaɪkoʊ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.23 in modern English

Syllables: taiko
IPA: /ˈtaɪkoʊ/

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A traditional drum, beaten by yobidashi to announce the beginning of a tournament, and at the end of each day

noun

A Japanese drum or a performance of several drummers in an ensemble (also called kumi-daiko).

noun

The Chatham Island taiko (Pterodroma magentae).

Example Sentences

"The taiko, a gadfly petrel from the Chatham Islands near to New Zealand, was well known to islanders during the nineteenth century, being used by them as a food resource."

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 太鼓 (たいこ taiko), from 太 (tʰàj, “great”) + 鼓 (kú, “drum”).

Origin

Source language: Japanese

Word Breakdown

Root: 太鼓

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈtaɪkoʊ/
British English: /ˈtaɪkəʊ/

Inflected Forms

taikos (plural)

Homonyms

tycho

Rhymes With

draco waco paco seiko keiko saco kaneko psycho tycho

Questions

How do you pronounce taiko?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtaɪkoʊ/.
What does taiko mean?: A traditional drum, beaten by yobidashi to announce the beginning of a tournament, and at the end of each day
Where does taiko come from?: It is traced to Japanese.

How to pronounce taiko

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