ween
/ˈwiːn/verb, noun
ween is spelled W-E-E-N: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “wean vs ween” about 90 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, ween means “To expect, hope or wish” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ween?
| Letters | 4: W-E-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,129th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
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 common is ween?
Ween appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th 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 ween?
- /ˈwiːn/
- [ˈwɪi̯n]
Ween has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ween.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with ween
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: wean (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of ween
- weens plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- weening participle, present
- weened past, participle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ween mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
archaicTo suppose, imagine; to think, believe.
And when they will fight they will shock them together in a plump; that if there be 20000 men, men shall not ween that there be scant 10000.
- 2
datedTo expect, hope or wish.
- 3
ScotlandrareTo weep or cry.
The boy's mother weened day and night.
- 4
obsoleteTo lament.
noun
- 1
slangwiener dog, dachshund
- 2
slangpenis
- 3
obsoleteDoubt; conjecture.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ween come from?
From Middle English wenen, from Old English wēnan, from Proto-Germanic *wēnijaną. Cognate with Dutch wanen, German wähnen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).