relation
re·la·tion/ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/noun
relation is spelled R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables (re·la·tion). It appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, relation means “The manner in which two things may be associated” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of relation is relations.
How many letters and syllables are in relation?
| Letters | 8: R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: re·la·tion |
| In writing | 20 times per million words; the 4,224th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is relation?
Relation appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th 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 relation?
- US /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
- Australia /ɹəˈlæ̝ɪʃ(ə)n/
Relation has 3 syllables, split re·la·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-relation.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-relation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with relation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as relation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃn/):
- information
- formation
- preparation
- presentation
- identification
- observation
- variation
- obligation
- simulation
- notification
- calculation
- reconciliation
Spelled with the same letters in another order: oriental.
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 relation
- relations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does relation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The manner in which two things may be associated.
The relation between diet and health is complex.
- 2
A member of one's extended family; a relative.
Yes, he's a relation of mine, but only a distant one.
- 3
A relationship; the manner in which and tone with which people or states, etc. interact.
the foreign relations of the United States
- 4
The act of relating a story.
Your relation of the events is different from mine.
- 5
A set of ordered tuples.
- 6
A set of ordered pairs; a binary relation.
Equality is a symmetric relation, while divisibility is not.
- 7
A set of tuples, implemented as a table in a relational database.
This relation uses the customer's social security number as a key.
- 8
A statement of equality of two products of generators, used in the presentation of a group.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Relation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | relation , parent, parente, parenté, parentage |
| German | Beziehung , Verwandter, Verwandte, Verwandtschaft , Relation |
| Portuguese | relação , parente |
| Spanish | relación , pariente , relaciones sexuales |
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 relation come from?
From Middle English relacion, relacioun, from Anglo-Norman relacioun and Old French relacion (whence French relation), from Latin relātiō, noun of process form from perfect passive participle relātus (“related”), from verb referō (“to refer, to relate”), from prefix re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear, to carry”). By surface analysis, relate + -ion. Doublet of relazione.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).