question
ques·tion/ˈkwɛs.tʃən/noun, verb
question is spelled Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N, 2 syllables: ques·tion. The wrong spelling people search most is quesion: about 120 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 78 of all searches for the word. Question is a noun meaning “A worded or expressed sentence, phrase, or only a word on its own, which asks for information, a reply, or a…”. The plural of question is questions.
How many letters and syllables are in question?
| Letters | 8: Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ques·tion |
| In writing | 224 times per million words; the 447th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, quesion, about 120 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
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 question?
Question is spelled Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 67 of the searches for question 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 question?
Question appears 224 times per million words in written English, the 447th 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 question?
- US /ˈkwɛs.tʃən/
- US /ˈkwɛs.tjən/
- US /ˈkwɛʃ.tʃən/
Question has 2 syllables, split ques·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-question.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with question?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as question from its last stressed vowel (/ɛstʃən/):
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 question
- questions plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- questioning participle, present
- questioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does question mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A worded or expressed sentence, phrase, or only a word on its own, which asks for information, a reply, or a response; an interrogative.
What is your question?
- 2
A subject or topic for consideration or investigation.
The question of seniority will be discussed at the meeting.
- 3
A doubt or challenge about the truth, accuracy, or validity of a matter.
His claim to the property has come under question.
- 4
A proposal to a meeting as a topic for deliberation.
I move that the question be put to a vote.
- 5
archaicInterrogation by torture.
- 6
obsoleteTalk; conversation; speech.
verb
- 1
To ask questions of; to interrogate; to ask for information.
- 2
To raise doubts about; have doubts about.
He questioned South Korean claims that China is a major source of its pollution.
- 3
To ask a question or questions; inquire or seek to know; examine.
- 4
obsoleteTo argue; to converse; to dispute.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate question?
Wiktionary records 6 abbreviations of question: Q, q, qn., qu., ques., quest..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Question in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | question , doute , motion , questionner, interroger , mettre en doute |
| German | Frage, Anfrage , Zweifel , fragen, hinterfragen, befragen |
| Portuguese | questão, pergunta , questionar , tema |
| Spanish | pregunta, cuestión, interrogante , preguntar , tema, asunto |
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 question come from?
From Middle English questioun, from Anglo-Norman questiun, from Old French question, from Latin quaestiōnem, accusative of quaestiō (“a seeking, investigation, inquiry, question”), from quaerere (“to seek, ask, inquire”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). Doublet of quest. Partially displaced native Old English āscung, whence asking. Compare also Middle Low German quēstie (“questioning; inquiry”), Middle High German questje (“question”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).