seventeen
/ˈsɛv.ən.tiːn/number
seventeen is spelled S-E-V-E-N-T-E-E-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a number, seventeen means “The cardinal number occurring after sixteen and before eighteen, represented in Roman numerals as XVII and in Arabic numerals as 17” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in seventeen?
| Letters | 9: S-E-V-E-N-T-E-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is seventeen?
Seventeen appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th 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 seventeen?
- US /ˈsɛv.ən.tiːn/
- US /ˌsɛv.ənˈtiːn/
Seventeen has 3 syllables (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: En-us-seventeen.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of seventeen
- 17
- zewnteen
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does seventeen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
number
- 1
The cardinal number occurring after sixteen and before eighteen, represented in Roman numerals as XVII and in Arabic numerals as 17.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Seventeen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cardinal number:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dix-sept |
| German | siebzehn |
| Portuguese | dezassete, dezessete |
| Spanish | diecisiete |
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 seventeen come from?
Inherited from Middle English seventene, from Old English seofontīene, from Proto-Germanic *sebuntehun. Cognate with Dutch zeventien, West Frisian santjin, German siebzehn, Danish sytten.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).