Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

zumba

/ˈzum.bə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.78 in modern English

Syllables
zum-ba
IPA
/ˈzum.bə/
18
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A fitness program that combines Latin and international music with dance.

Etymology

From trademark Zumba created by the Colombian Beto Pérez. He wanted to call it "rumba", but this name was already taken for the Cuban musical genre and could create confusion. So he and his partner began to try initial letters until they liked "sumba", but Beto Pérez decided to write it with "z" because he liked the fictional character Zorro when he was a child.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈzum.bə/

Questions

How do you pronounce zumba?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈzum.bə/.
What does zumba mean?
A fitness program that combines Latin and international music with dance.
Where does zumba come from?
From trademark Zumba created by the Colombian Beto Pérez. He wanted to call it "rumba", but this name was already taken for the Cuban musical genre and could create confusion. So he and his partner began to try initial letters until they liked "sumba", but Beto Pérez decided to write it with "z" because he liked the fictional character Zorro when he was a child.

How to pronounce zumba

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