never
nev·er/ˈnɛv.ɚ/adverb, verb, interjection
never is spelled N-E-V-E-R, 2 syllables: nev·er. The wrong spelling people search most is enver: about 120 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 20 of all searches for the word. Never is an adverb meaning “At no time; on no occasion; in no circumstance”.
How many letters and syllables are in never?
| Letters | 5: N-E-V-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: nev·er |
| In writing | 813 times per million words; the 132nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, enver, about 120 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); 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 do you spell never?
Never is spelled N-E-V-E-R. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 20 of the searches for never in either form.
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). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is never?
Never appears 813 times per million words in written English, the 132nd 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 never?
- UK /ˈnɛv.ə/
- US /ˈnɛv.ɚ/
Never has 2 syllables, split nev·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-never.ogg, En-us-never.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with never
Also written: neva.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with never?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as never from its last stressed vowel (/ɛvəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: nerve.
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 never
- neva
- nevah
- nevuh
- neber
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does never mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
At no time; on no occasion; in no circumstance.
I finally finished, and I never do wanna do it again.
- 2
Not at any other time; not on any other occasion; not previously.
- 3
colloquialNegative particle (used to negate verbs in the simple past tense; also used absolutely).
The police say I stole the car, but I never did it.
verb
- 1
Did not; didn't.
interjection
- 1
A statement of defiance
‘Guess what, I've won the pools!’ ‘Never!’
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate never?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of never: nvr.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Never in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense at no time:
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.