bc
/biːˈsiː/adverb, conjunction, noun
bc is spelled B-C: 2 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, bc means “Initialism of Before Christ” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bc?
| Letters | 2: B-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 31 times per million words; the 3,052nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bc?
Bc appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bc?
- /biːˈsiː/
Bc has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-BC.wav, En-us-bc.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does bc mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Initialism of Before Christ.
adverb
- 1
Initialism of Before Christ.
The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 BC to AD 220.
noun
- 1
Initialism of birth control.
- 2
Initialism of benzalkonium chloride.
- 3
USInitialism of battlecruiser.
- 4
Initialism of backward compatibility.
This would be a BC-breaking change.
- 5
Initialism of border collie.
- 6
Initialism of borough council.
adjective
- 1
Initialism of board-certified.
conjunction
- 1
Abbreviation of because.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of basso continuo.
- 2
Initialism of bodycam.
- 3
Initialism of blind carbon copy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bc in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense before Christ – see also BCE:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | av. J.-C., av. JC (avant Jésus-Christ), av. n. è., avant notre ère |
| German | v. Chr. (vor Christus, vor Christo) |
| Portuguese | a.C., A.C. |
| Spanish | a. de J. C. (antes de Jesucristo), a. C., a. de C. |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.