Jesus
Jes·us/ˈd͡ʒiːzəs/noun, interjection, verb
Jesus is spelled J-E-S-U-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables (Jes·us). It appears 98 times per million words in written English, the 1,112th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, Jesus means “The Christian savior” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of Jesus is Jesuses or Jesusses; Wiktionary also lists Jesi (nonstandard), Jesii (nonstandard).
How many letters and syllables are in Jesus?
| Letters | 5: J-E-S-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: Jes·us |
| In writing | 98 times per million words; the 1,112th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is Jesus?
Jesus appears 98 times per million words in written English, the 1,112th 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 Jesus?
- UK /ˈd͡ʒiːzəs/
- UK [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯zəs] ~ [ˈd͡ʒɪi̯zs̩]
- UK /ˈd͡ʒiːˌzʌs/
Jesus has 2 syllables, split Jes·us in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Jesus.wav, En-us-Jesus.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Jesus
- Jesuses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- Jesusses plural
- Jesusing participle, present
- Jesused participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Jesus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The Christian savior.
interjection
- 1
offensiveAn exclamation, particularly used to express excitement or exasperation.
Jesus, that was close!
verb
- 1
colloquialderogatoryTo subject to (excessive) Christian proselytizing, preaching, or moralizing.
- 2
informalTo exclaim Jesus at someone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jesus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense expletive:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | doux Jésus |
| Portuguese | Jesus! |
| Spanish | Jesús, ave María |
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 Jesus come from?
From Middle English Jhesus, Iesus, from Latin Iēsūs, from Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), from Biblical Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšū́aʿ), a contracted form of יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (yəhōšúaʿ, “Joshua”), meaning "the Lord saves". The form יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšū́aʿ) is attested in some of the later books of the Hebrew Bible (Ezra–Nehemiah), and translated as Jeshua or Yeshua in some English editions (the former appearing in the King James Version). The Greek texts make no distinction between Jesus and Joshua, referring to them both as Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).