couldn't
/ˈkʊd.n̩t/verb
couldn't is spelled C-O-U-L-D-N-T. The wrong spelling people search most is couldnt: about 200 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 2 in 10 of all searches for the word. Couldn't is a verb meaning “Could not (negative auxiliary)”.
How many letters and syllables are in couldn't?
| Letters | 7: C-O-U-L-D-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 123 times per million words; the 851st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, couldnt, about 200 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); 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).
How do you spell couldn't?
Couldn't is spelled C-O-U-L-D-N-T. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 2 in 10 of the searches for couldn't 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 couldn't?
Couldn't appears 123 times per million words in written English, the 851st 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 couldn't?
- /ˈkʊd.n̩t/
- US [ˈkʊɾ.n̩ʔ]
- [ˈkʊ̃ʔ]
Couldn't 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-couldn't.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does couldn't mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
Could not (negative auxiliary).
You couldn’t lend me a lighter, could you?
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does couldn't come from?
From could + n’t.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).