because
be·cause/bɪkəz/conjunction, adverb, interjection, preposition
because is spelled B-E-C-A-U-S-E, 2 syllables: be·cause. The wrong spelling people search most is becuase: about 150 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 36 of all searches for the word. Because is a conjunction meaning “By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that”.
How many letters and syllables are in because?
| Letters | 7: B-E-C-A-U-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: be·cause |
| In writing | 1,072 times per million words; the 100th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 13; the most searched, becuase, about 150 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell because?
Because is spelled B-E-C-A-U-S-E. 13 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 11 of the searches for because in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is because?
Because appears 1,072 times per million words in written English, the 100th 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 because?
- /bɪkəz/
- /bɪˈkɒz/
- /bɪˈkʌz/
Because has 2 syllables, split be·cause in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-because.wav, En-us-because.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of because
- bycause
- becos
- 'cause
- cause
- cos
- cuz
- coz
- 'cos
- 'cuz
- 'coz
- b/c
- bc
- bcos
- bcoz
- bcs
- bcz
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does because mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
conjunction
- 1
By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
I hid myself because I was afraid.
- 2
As is known, inferred, or determined from the fact that.
It must be broken, because I pressed the button and nothing happened.
- 3
obsoleteSo that, in order that.
adverb
- 1
On account, for sake [with of].
My life is ruined because of you!
- 2
obsoleteFor the reason [with that].
interjection
- 1
Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer to a question begun with "why", usually taken as an anapodoton of the elided full phrase "Because I said so".
preposition
- 1
colloquialOn account of, because of.
He rejected me because revenge, I guess.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate because?
Wiktionary records 9 abbreviations of because: b/c, bc, bcos, bcoz, bcs, bcse, bcus, bcuz, bcz.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Because in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | parce que, car, à cause que , parce que c'est comme ça |
| German | weil, denn, da , deshalb, darum, deswegen |
| Portuguese | porque, já que , porque sim, porque não |
| Spanish | porque, ya que, por cuanto, pues, ca, car |
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.
Where does because come from?
From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).