hymen
/ˈhaɪmən/noun
hymen is spelled H-Y-M-E-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hymen means “A membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening in human females” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hymen is hymens.
How many letters and syllables are in hymen?
| Letters | 5: H-Y-M-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is hymen?
Hymen appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th 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 hymen?
- /ˈhaɪmən/
Hymen 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)-Vealhurl-hymen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hymen
- hymens plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hymen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening in human females.
- 2
Marriage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hymen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense membrane which occludes the vagina:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hymen |
| German | Hymen, Jungfernhäutchen |
| Portuguese | hímen |
| Spanish | himen |
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 hymen come from?
From Middle French hymen, from Late Latin hymēn, from Ancient Greek ὑμήν (humḗn, “skin; membrane”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).