nee
/neɪ/adjective, interjection
nee is spelled N-E-E: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, nee means “Alternative spelling of née” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in nee?
| Letters | 3: N-E-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,073rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nee?
Nee appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd 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 nee?
- /neɪ/
As an interjection (“no, used to express no as a quantity, i.e. not any, like…”): /niː/, /neɪ/.
Nee 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nee.wav, En-us-nay.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nee2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with nee
Sounds like: Neagh, nay (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with nee?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as nee.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: een.
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 nee
- née
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nee mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Alternative spelling of née.
- 2
Used when giving a former name. Originally known as.
interjection
- 1
no, used to express no as a quantity, i.e. not any, like German kein/Dutch geen/French rien. Compare with na.
Nee way man!
adjective
- 1
Used when giving the maiden name of a woman.
Mrs Smith, née Jones
- 2
Used when giving a former name. Originally known as.
Since the name change, Butch (née Frances) seems more tough and self-assured.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nee in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense used to indicate maiden name of a woman:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | née |
| German | geborene, geb. |
| Spanish | de soltera |
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 nee come from?
From French née, feminine of né, past participle of naître, to be born.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).