bene

/biːn/

//biːn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bene" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bene” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #32,695) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#32,695
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A prayer, especially to God; a petition; a boon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bene · bene · English

bene · rank #32,695 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,695
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH basements

Nearest frequency peer: basements (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “bene”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “bene” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bene vs bn
50% similar
bene vs bet
50% similar
bene vs bye
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bene
PropertyValue
Headwordbene
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/biːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#32,695
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “bene”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).benelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “basements” (#32,694), “bereaved” (#32,696), “Banff” (#32,693). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bene” is #32,695. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for bene is neighbouring look-alikes ("bn", "bet", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /biːn/. Frequency #32,695 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Gloss: "A prayer, especially to God; a petition; a boon.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for bene, with forms such as "bbene", "benne", and "bnee". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bn", "bet", "bye", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 (“requ… The correct English form is bene, spelled B-E-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A prayer, especially to God; a petition; a boon.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how bene appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What is good for a bootless bene?

Etymology

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.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbene
  • benne
  • bnee
  • ebne

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bene - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbene1benne1bnee2ebne2
Edit distance from "bene"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bene"?
"bene" is spelled B-E-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /biːn/.
What does "bene" mean?
As a noun, "bene" means: A prayer, especially to God; a petition; a boon.
What words are commonly confused with "bene"?
"bene" is commonly confused with "bn", "bet", "bye". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bene"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bene" is /biːn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bene"?
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 ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bene", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Baez#32,687avis#32,685Amal#32,672calc#32,718

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list