harem
/ˈhæɹəm/noun
harem is spelled H-A-R-E-M: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, harem means “The private section of a Muslim household forbidden to male strangers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of harem is harems.
How many letters and syllables are in harem?
| Letters | 5: H-A-R-E-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd 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 harem?
Harem appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd 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 harem?
- UK /ˈhɑːɹəm/
- US /ˈhæɹəm/
- US /ˈhɛəɹəm/
Harem 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-ne-harem.ogg, En-us-harem.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with harem?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as harem from its last stressed vowel (/æɹəm/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: rhema.
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 harem
- harems plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does harem mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The private section of a Muslim household forbidden to male strangers.
- 2
A group of someone's girlfriends, wives and/or concubines in a polygamous household.
- 3
A group of female animals (cows) herded and controlled by a male animal (bull) of that species for breeding purposes. Such behaviour is exhibited by bovids including cattle and buffalo as well as moose, elephants, seals (including elephant seals), sea lions, and baboons.
- 4
A group of female birds mated to or associated with a breeding male.
- 5
slangAny significant number of women together as a group; a bevy.
- 6
A genre of anime and manga in which a man is the love interest of three or more women.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Harem in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the private part of an Arab or Muslim Indian household:
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 harem come from?
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish حرم (harem) (whence Turkish harem), from Arabic حَرَم (ḥaram, “something prohibited; sanctuary, women”); and later also from حَرِيم (ḥarīm) with same meaning, both from حَرُمَ (ḥaruma, “be forbidden or unlawful”). Doublet of haram and herem.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).