subterranean
sub·ter·ra·ne·an/ˌsʌbtəˈɹeɪniən/adjective, noun
subterranean is spelled S-U-B-T-E-R-R-A-N-E-A-N, 5 syllables: sub·ter·ra·ne·an. The wrong spelling people search most is subterranian: about 30 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 40 of all searches for the word. Subterranean is an adjective meaning “Below ground, under the earth, underground”.
How many letters and syllables are in subterranean?
| Letters | 12: S-U-B-T-E-R-R-A-N-E-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: sub·ter·ra·ne·an |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,070th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, subterranian, about 30 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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).
How do you spell subterranean?
Subterranean is spelled S-U-B-T-E-R-R-A-N-E-A-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 40 of the searches for subterranean 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 subterranean?
Subterranean appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,070th 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 subterranean?
- /ˌsʌbtəˈɹeɪniən/
Subterranean has 5 syllables, split sub·ter·ra·ne·an in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-subterranean.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of subterranean
- subterraneans plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does subterranean mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Below ground, under the earth, underground.
- 2
Secret, concealed.
noun
- 1
Someone or something that is subterranean.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Subterranean in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense below ground, under the earth – see also underground:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | souterrain |
| German | unterirdisch |
| Portuguese | subterrâneo |
| Spanish | subterráneo |
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 subterranean come from?
From Latin subterrāneus + -an. Compare subterrane and subterraneous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).