be that as it may
"be-that-as-it-may" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“be that as it may” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adv_phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Even if that is the case; whether that is true or not; nevertheless.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | be that as it may |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adv_phrase |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “be that as it may” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for be that as it may is 17 letters long, classified as an adv_phrase. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Even if that is the case; whether that is true or not; nevertheless.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for be that as it may, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is be that as it may, spelled B-E- -T-H-A-T- -A-S- -I-T- -M-A-Y.
Definition
- 1Even if that is the case; whether that is true or not; nevertheless.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “be that as it may”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E- -T-H-A-T- -A-S- -I-T- -M-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.