behear
"behear" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“behear” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To give ear to; hear (intently); attend (to); pay attention or give heed to; listen to.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | behear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “behear” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for behear is 6 letters long, classified as a verb. 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: "To give ear to; hear (intently); attend (to); pay attention or give heed to; listen to.".
Zero misspellings are on record for behear in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From be- (“at, about”) + hear. Cognate with Scots behere, behear (“to hear, hear our cry”), West Frisian beheare (“to administer; manage”), Dutch behoren (“to belong”). The correct English form is behear, spelled B-E-H-E-A-R.
Definition
- 1To give ear to; hear (intently); attend (to); pay attention or give heed to; listen to.
Etymology
From be- (“at, about”) + hear. Cognate with Scots behere, behear (“to hear, hear our cry”), West Frisian beheare (“to administer; manage”), Dutch behoren (“to belong”).
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 “behear”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-H-E-A-R - 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.