concern
con·cern/kənˈsɝn/noun, verb
concern is spelled C-O-N-C-E-R-N, 2 syllables: con·cern. The wrong spelling people search most is consern: about 90 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 24 of all searches for the word. Concern is a noun meaning “That which affects one’s welfare or happiness. A matter of interest to someone”. The plural of concern is concerns.
How many letters and syllables are in concern?
| Letters | 7: C-O-N-C-E-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: con·cern |
| In writing | 46 times per million words; the 2,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, consern, about 90 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell concern?
Concern is spelled C-O-N-C-E-R-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 24 of the searches for concern in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is concern?
Concern appears 46 times per million words in written English, the 2,204th 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 concern?
- US /kənˈsɝn/
- UK /kənˈsɜːn/
Concern has 2 syllables, split con·cern in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-concern.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with concern?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as concern from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹn/):
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 concern
- concerns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- concerning participle, present
- concerned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does concern mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
That which affects one’s welfare or happiness. A matter of interest to someone.
Mark’s health was of great concern to Connie.
- 2
The placement of interest or worry on a subject.
Most people in Australia have no concern for the recent events in London.
- 3
A worry; a sense that something may be wrong; an identification of a possible problem.
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the document.
- 4
The expression of solicitude, anxiety, or compassion toward a thing or person.
Judy's eyes filled with concern as she listened to the news report.
- 5
A business, firm or enterprise; a company.
The employees’ attitude is really hurting the concern.
- 6
Any set of information that affects the code of a computer program.
verb
- 1
To relate or belong to; to have reference to or connection with; to affect the interest of; to be of importance to.
- 2
To engage by feeling or sentiment; to interest.
A good prince concerns himself in the happiness of his subjects.
- 3
To make somebody worried.
I’m concerned that she’s becoming an alcoholic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate concern?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of concern: VOC.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Concern in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inquiétude, souci , soin, préoccupation , concerner, interesser |
| German | Sorge, Anliegen , Betroffenheit, Besorgnis , angehen , Konzern |
| Portuguese | preocupação , concernir, ter a ver com , negócio , apreensão, reserva |
| Spanish | interés, concernencia , preocupación , referirse a , negocio, empresa |
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 concern come from?
Borrowed from Middle French concerner, from Medieval Latin concernō, concernere (“I distinguish, have respect to”), from Latin concernō (“to mix, sift, or mingle together, as in a sieve”), combined form of con- + cernō (“distinguish”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).