known
/noʊn/adjective, noun, verb
known is spelled K-N-O-W-N: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 245 times per million words in written English, the 402nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, known means “Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in known?
| Letters | 5: K-N-O-W-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 245 times per million words; the 402nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is known?
Known appears 245 times per million words in written English, the 402nd 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 known?
- UK /nəʊn/
- /naːn/
- US /noʊn/
Known has one syllable (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: En-us-known.ogg, En-au-known.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with known?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as known from its last stressed vowel (/oʊn/):
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 known
- better known comparative
- best known superlative
- knowns plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does known mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Identified as a specific type; famous, renowned.
He was a known pickpocket.
- 2
Accepted, familiar, researched.
At the time, Einstein's theory was unknown to most other scientists.
noun
- 1
Any fact or situation which is known or familiar.
You have to tell the knowns from the unknowns.
- 2
A constant or variable the value of which is already determined.
verb
- 1
past participle of know
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Known in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense whom other people know; renowned, famous:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | connu |
| German | bekannt |
| Portuguese | conhecido |
| Spanish | conocido, que tiene fama de, conocido por, consabido, sabido |
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 known come from?
From Middle English knowen, from Old English cnāwen (past participle). Morphologically know + -n.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).