comprehension
/ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/noun
comprehension is spelled C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N: 13 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, comprehension means “A thorough understanding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of comprehension is comprehensions.
How many letters and syllables are in comprehension?
| Letters | 13: C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 comprehension?
Comprehension appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th 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 comprehension?
- UK /ˌkɒmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/
- US /ˌkɑmpɹɪˈhɛnʃn̩/
- Australia /ˌkɔmpɹɪˈhenʃn̩/
Comprehension has 4 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-comprehension.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with comprehension?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as comprehension from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnʃn/):
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 comprehension
- comprehensions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does comprehension mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A thorough understanding.
Students will be tested on their comprehension of sentences in the foreign language.
- 2
The totality of intensions, that is, attributes, characters, marks, properties, or qualities, that the object possesses, or else the totality of intensions that are pertinent to the context of a given discussion.
- 3
A compact syntax for generating a collection in some programming languages, traditionally lists in functional programming languages.
- 4
The inclusion of nonconformists within the Church of England.
- 5
Reading comprehension.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Comprehension in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense thorough understanding:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | compréhension, entendement |
| German | Verständnis, Verstehen |
| Portuguese | compreensão |
| Spanish | comprensión, entendimiento, comprehensión |
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 comprehension come from?
Borrowed from Middle French compréhension, from Latin comprehēnsiō (“taking together”), from com- (“with, together”) + prehendō (“take”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).