discern
/dɪˈsɝn/verb
discern is spelled D-I-S-C-E-R-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, discern means “To detect with the senses, especially with the eyes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in discern?
| Letters | 7: D-I-S-C-E-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,516th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 discern?
Discern appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th 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 discern?
- UK /dɪˈsɜːn/
- UK /dəˈsøːn/
- US /dɪˈsɝn/
Discern 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-discern.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with discern?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as discern from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹn/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: rescind.
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 discern
- discerns present, singular, he/she/it
- discerning participle, present
- discerned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does discern mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To detect with the senses, especially with the eyes.
- 2
To perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind; to descry.
- 3
To distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate or discriminate.
He was too young to discern right from wrong.
- 4
To perceive differences.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Discern in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | discerner |
| German | erkennen, wahrnehmen, bemerken, feststellen, merken, mitbekommen |
| Portuguese | perceber , discernir , distinguir, diferenciar |
| Spanish | discernir, discerner , vislumbrar |
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 discern come from?
From Middle English discernen, from Old French discerner, from Latin discernere (“to separate, divide, distinguish, discern”), from dis- (“apart”) + cernere (“to distinguish”); see certain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).