we
/wi/pronoun, determiner
we is spelled W-E: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 3,467 times per million words in written English, the 30th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a pronoun, we means “Excluding the person(s) being addressed. (This is the exclusive we.)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in we?
| Letters | 2: W-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3,467 times per million words; the 30th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is we?
We appears 3,467 times per million words in written English, the 30th 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 we?
- UK /wiː/
- US /wi/
As a pronoun (“us”): /wə/.
We has one syllable (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-uk-we.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Greenman-we.wav, En-us-we.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with we
Sounds like: Wii, oui, wee, whee (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with we?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as we from its last stressed vowel (/i/):
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 we
- us
- our
- ours
- ourselves
- ourself singular
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does we mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
pronoun
- 1
Excluding the person(s) being addressed. (This is the exclusive we.)
We are here to arrest you.
- 2
Including the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)
We need to have a talk, you and me.
- 3
The institution which the speaker/writer is acting for. (This is the editorial we, used by writers and others when speaking with the authority of their publication or organisation.)
We will in due course state our reasons for publishing the name of the accused.
- 4
Any other entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.
I went to watch our school football match against Puddletown High. We lost 2-0.
- 5
People in general.
We live and learn.
- 6
The sovereign alone in his or her capacity as monarch. (This is the royal we. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
We are Queen of all these Isles.
- 7
colloquialEveryone being addressed.
Good evening everyone. How are we all tonight?
- 8
colloquialAn individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given. (Sometimes called the nurse's we or the doctor's we.)
Hello Mrs Miggins. How are we feeling this morning?
- 9
us
He was a propa gadgie, and always bought we drinks after a long shift.
determiner
- 1
Designates the speaker(s)/writer(s) as belonging to or constituting the stated category of people.
We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different.
noun
- 1
Initialism of war establishment.
pronoun
- 1
Honorific alternative letter-case form of of we, sometimes used when speaking as an important figure or figures.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
We in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense generic we (the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether it':
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 we come from?
From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with Scots wee, we (“we”), North Frisian we (“we”), West Frisian wy (“we”), Low German wi (“we”), Dutch we, wij (“we”), German wir (“we”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vi (“we”), Icelandic vér, við (“we”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 (vaēm), Sanskrit वयम् (vayám).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).