humane

/hjuːˈmeɪn/

//hjuːˈmeɪn// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"humane" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“humane” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,619. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,619
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having or showing concern for the pain or suffering of another; compassionate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-humane · humane · English

humane · rank #12,619 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,619
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH heavyweight

Nearest frequency peer: heavyweight (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “humane”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “humane” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

humane vs Hume
50% similar
humane vs Hyman
50% similar
humane vs Hunan
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for humane
PropertyValue
Headwordhumane
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/hjuːˈmeɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,619
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “humane”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).humanelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “heavyweight” (#12,618), “humanities” (#12,620), “hath” (#12,617). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “humane” is #12,619. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around humane (IPA /hjuːˈmeɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #12,619 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for humane, with forms such as "hhumane", "hmuane", and "huamne". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "Hume", "Hyman", "Hunan", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English humain, humayne, from Old French humain, umain, from Latin hūmānus, from Latin homō (“man”). Cognate with Old English guma (“man”), whence the groom in English bridegroom. The correct English form is humane, spelled H-U-M-A-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having or showing concern for the pain or suffering of another; compassionate.
  2. 2
    Pertaining to branches of learning concerned with human affairs or the humanities, especially classical literature or rhetoric.
  3. 3
    Obsolete spelling of human.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It is no longer considered humane to perform vivisection on research animals.
  2. As methods of execution go, beheading is more humane than drawing and quartering.

Etymology

From Middle English humain, humayne, from Old French humain, umain, from Latin hūmānus, from Latin homō (“man”). Cognate with Old English guma (“man”), whence the groom in English bridegroom.

Synonyms

mankindly

Antonyms

inhumaninhumanenonhumane

This word in other languages

humano(Español)humain(Français)human(Deutsch)humano(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhumane
  • hmuane
  • huamne
  • humaen
  • humanne
  • hummane
  • humnae
  • uhmane

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of humane - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhumane1hmuane2huamne2humaen2humanne1hummane1humnae2uhmane2
Edit distance from "humane"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "humane"?
"humane" is spelled H-U-M-A-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /hjuːˈmeɪn/.
What does "humane" mean?
As an adjective, "humane" means: Having or showing concern for the pain or suffering of another; compassionate.
What words are commonly confused with "humane"?
"humane" is commonly confused with "Hume", "Hyman", "Hunan". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "humane"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "humane" is /hjuːˈmeɪn/. 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 "humane"?
From Middle English humain, humayne, from Old French humain, umain, from Latin hūmānus, from Latin homō (“man”). Cognate with Old English guma (“man”), whence the groom in English bridegroom. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "humane", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gluten#12,611lawful#12,627leased#12,629Lord's#12,632

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

gorilla8 variantsmantle8 variantsottoman8 variantsDanielle8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list