Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tanka

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.18 in modern English

Syllables
tan-ka
IPA
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A form of Japanese verse in five lines of 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7 morae.

noun

Alternative form of Tanka (“an ethnic group of boat people living in China”).

noun

A kind of boat used in Guangdong, about 25 feet long and often rowed by Tanka women; junk.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Japanese 短歌 (tanka, “short song”), from Middle Chinese 短 (MC twanX) 歌 (MC ka) (compare Mandarin 短歌 (duǎngē) duǎngē).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: 短歌, -, टङ्क

Inflected Forms

Questions

What does tanka mean?
A form of Japanese verse in five lines of 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7 morae.
Where does tanka come from?
It is traced to Japanese.

How to pronounce tanka

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