pneuma

/ˈnjuːmə/

//ˈnjuːmə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pneuma" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pneuma” is uncommon English (frequency #93,025 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,025
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A neume.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pneuma · pneuma · English

pneuma · rank #93,025 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,025
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pocketful

Nearest frequency peer: pocketful (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pneuma”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pneuma” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026
Key facts for pneuma
PropertyValue
Headwordpneuma
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnjuːmə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#93,025
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pneuma” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pneuma lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pneuma is uncommon English at frequency #93,025 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnjuːmə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pneuma, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “wind, breath, spirit”), from πνέω (pnéō, “I blow, breathe”). Doublet of neume. The correct English form is pneuma, spelled P-N-E-U-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A neume.
  2. 2
    The spirit or soul.
  3. 3
    One of three levels of a human being, the spirit, along with the body and soul.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pneuma appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. With swaying arms they wail in pneuma over the recreant Bloom.
  2. But bound to reach out and beyond this flesh. / Become Pneuma

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “wind, breath, spirit”), from πνέω (pnéō, “I blow, breathe”). Doublet of neume.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pneuma"?
"pneuma" is spelled P-N-E-U-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnjuːmə/.
What does "pneuma" mean?
As a noun, "pneuma" means: A neume.
How do you pronounce "pneuma"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pneuma" is /ˈnjuːmə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pneuma"?
From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “wind, breath, spirit”), from πνέω (pnéō, “I blow, breathe”). Doublet of neume. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pneuma", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Politi#93,029pestis#92,999Pessoa#92,998Ralphs#93,060
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list