bene
/biːn/noun
bene is spelled B-E-N-E: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bene means “A prayer, especially to God; a petition; a boon” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bene is benes.
How many letters and syllables are in bene?
| Letters | 4: B-E-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bene?
Bene appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th 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 bene?
- /biːn/
Bene 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-bene.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bene
Sounds like: bean (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: ben.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bene?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as bene.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: been.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bene
- benes plural
- been
- ben
- benar comparative
- benat superlative
- bien
- benny
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bene mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A prayer, especially to God; a petition; a boon.
- 2
Alternative form of benne (“sesame”).
- 3
UKobsoleteTongue.
Stowe your bene!
- 4
Abbreviation of eggs Benedict, an egg dish
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of eggs benedict, an egg dish
adjective
- 1
UKobsoleteGood.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does bene come from?
From Middle English bene, from Old English bēn (“prayer, request, petition, favour, compulsory service”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”). Cognate with Danish bøn (“prayer”), Swedish bön (“prayer”), Icelandic bæn (“prayer”), Icelandic bón (“request”). Related to ban. See also boon, bee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).