humane
/hjuˈmeɪn/adjective
humane is spelled H-U-M-A-N-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “human vs humane” about 170 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, humane means “Having or showing concern for the pain or suffering of another; compassionate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in humane?
| Letters | 6: H-U-M-A-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.2 times per million words; the 12,578th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is humane?
Humane appears 4.2 times per million words in written English, the 12,578th 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 humane?
- UK /hjuːˈmeɪn/
- US /hjuˈmeɪn/
- Australia /hjʉːˈmæɪn/
Humane 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-humane.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Qwertygiy-humane.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with humane
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: human.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with humane?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as humane from its last stressed vowel (/eɪn/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: emunah.
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 humane
- humaner comparative
- more humane comparative
- humanest superlative
- most humane superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does humane mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having or showing concern for the pain or suffering of another; compassionate.
It is no longer considered humane to perform vivisection on research animals.
- 2
Pertaining to branches of learning concerned with human affairs or the humanities, especially classical literature or rhetoric.
- 3
obsoleteObsolete spelling of human.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Humane in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense with regard for the health and well-being of another:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | humain |
| German | human, menschlich |
| Portuguese | humano |
| Spanish | humano |
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 humane come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).