construe
/kənˈstɹuː/noun, verb
construe is spelled C-O-N-S-T-R-U-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, construe means “A translation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of construe is construes.
How many letters and syllables are in construe?
| Letters | 8: C-O-N-S-T-R-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,114th 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 construe?
Construe appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,114th 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 construe?
- /kənˈstɹuː/
- /ˈkɒnstəɹ/
Construe 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)-عُثمان_(Middle_river_exports)-construe.wav, En-us-construe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of construe
- construes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- construing participle, present
- construed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does construe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A translation.
- 2
An interpretation.
verb
- 1
To understand (something) as meaning, to take to mean.
- 2
To interpret (something) to another or publicly, explain the meaning of (something, usually language).
- 3
To analyze the grammatical structure of a clause or sentence; to parse.
- 4
To admit of grammatical analysis.
- 5
To translate.
- 6
To infer.
- 7
obsoleteTo explain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Construe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Übersetzung , Interpretation, Auslegung, Deutung, Analyse, Auffassung |
| Portuguese | tradução , interpretação |
| French | expliquer, comprendre |
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 construe come from?
From Middle English construen, from Late Latin construo, construere (“to relate grammatically”), from Latin construo (“pile together”); doublet of construct.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).