English Word Reference Free

we-re

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

open dictionary

Access

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "we-re", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "we-re" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "we-re" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

we're is aEnglishcontraction. It means: Contraction of we + are. Pronounced /wɪə/. It ranks #394 in English word frequency. Often confused with wee and wer.

Key facts for we're
PropertyValue
Headwordwe're
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechContraction
IPA/wɪə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#394
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of we're in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for we're is 5 letters long, classified as acontraction, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /wɪə/. Corpus data places it at rank #394 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Contraction of we + are.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for we're, with forms such as "ew're", "w'ere", and "we'er". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "wee", "wer", "were", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is we're, spelled W-E-'-R-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Contraction of we + are.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ew're,w'ere,we'er,we'rre,wer'e,wwe're

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for we're

Misspelling Variants of "we're"

ew're5w'ere5we'er5we'rre6wer'e5wwe're6
Misspelling Variants of "we're"

Frequency rank: #394 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "we're"?
"we're" is spelled W-E-'-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /wɪə/.
What does "we're" mean?
As a contraction, "we're" means: Contraction of we + are.
What words are commonly confused with "we're"?
"we're" is commonly confused with "wee", "wer", "were". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "we're"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "we're" is /wɪə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "we're" come from?
"we're" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter W in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.