beneath
/bɪˈniːθ/adverb, preposition
beneath is spelled B-E-N-E-A-T-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, beneath means “Below or underneath” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in beneath?
| Letters | 7: B-E-N-E-A-T-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is beneath?
Beneath appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd 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 beneath?
- /bɪˈniːθ/
Beneath 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: En-us-beneath.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of beneath
- beneathe
- neath
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does beneath mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Below or underneath.
preposition
- 1
Below.
- 2
In a position that is lower in rank, dignity, etc.
Their despicable behaviour is beneath contempt.
- 3
Covered up or concealed by something.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Beneath in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dessous , sous |
| Portuguese | abaixo, embaixo , embaixo de |
| Spanish | bajo , bajo de, abajo de |
| German | unter |
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 beneath come from?
From Middle English benethe, from Old English bineoþan (“beneath, under, below”), equivalent to be- + neath. Cognate with Low German benedden (“beneath”), Dutch beneden (“beneath, under, down”), obsolete German benieden (“below”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).