human being

/ˌhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋ/

//ˌhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋ// noun

"human-being" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“human being” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person; a large sapient, bipedal primate, with notably less hair than others of that order, of the species Homo sapiens.

Corpus desk

Index EN-human-being · human being · English

human being · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for human being
PropertyValue
Headwordhuman being
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋ/
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “human being” in English

human beingsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

human being is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for human being, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From human (adjective) + being (noun). The word human was originally an adjective, thus requiring a base noun. The correct English form is human being, spelled H-U-M-A-N- -B-E-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person; a large sapient, bipedal primate, with notably less hair than others of that order, of the species Homo sapiens.
  2. 2
    Any member of the genus Homo, including extinct species.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how human being appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He began to reflect that in a few Minutes he might possibly deprive a human Being of Life, or might lose his own.
  2. The first real human beings in China lived about 600,000 years ago. Fossils of Gigantopithecus, a Latin name for Giant Ape, were dug up at Lan-t'ien in the early 1960s. Though they looked a lot like apes, the Lan-t'ien people were among the first of our species to make tools.

Etymology

From human (adjective) + being (noun). The word human was originally an adjective, thus requiring a base noun.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "human being"?
"human being" is spelled H-U-M-A-N- -B-E-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋ/.
What does "human being" mean?
As a noun, "human being" means: A person; a large sapient, bipedal primate, with notably less hair than others of that order, of the species Homo sapiens.
How do you pronounce "human being"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "human being" is /ˌhjuːmən ˈbiːɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "human being"?
From human (adjective) + being (noun). The word human was originally an adjective, thus requiring a base noun. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list