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 uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adv_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Even if that is the case; whether that is true or not; nevertheless.
Corpus desk
Index EN-be-that-as-it-may · be that as it may · English
be that as it may · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 17 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| 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) |
Long-tail rank of “be that as it may” in English
Rare enough to double-check
be that as it may is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadv_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how be that as it may appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Be that as it may, the duty of all communicants lies plain.
But be that as it may, the principle of it is founded in truth.
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.