however

/haʊˈɛv.ə/

//haʊˈɛv.ə// adv

The verdict

“however” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #84,004 among 1,569 “H” headwords), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,004
frequency rank, Spanish
1,569
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sin embargo, no obstante.

Corpus desk

Index ES-however · however · Spanish

however · rank #84,004 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,004
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,569
  • PHOTO-FINISH horripilantes

Nearest frequency peer: horripilantes (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “however”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “however” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for however
PropertyValue
Headwordhowever
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/haʊˈɛv.ə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#84,004
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “however” en español

La frecuencia va del puñado de palabras que usamos sin parar (izquierda) a la cola larga que apenas aparece (derecha).howevercae en esta cola de rareza:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “horripilantes” (#84,003), “huimos” (#84,007), “humillaron” (#84,008). Entre 1,569 lemas con “H”, “however” va en #84,004. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

however is uncommon Spanish at frequency #84,004 among 1,569 “H” headwords, classed as anadverb, transcribed /haʊˈɛv.ə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

however doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Spanish form is however, spelled H-O-W-E-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sin embargo, no obstante.
  2. 2
    En contraste.
  3. 3
    En cualquier grado o extensión. Utilizado con un adjetivo o un adverbio.
  4. 4
    De cualquier manera que a uno le guste o elija; de una manera accidental o espontánea.
  5. 5
    How ever: una forma enfática de how, usada para preguntar de qué manera.
  6. 6
    En cualquier caso, de todas maneras, en todo caso.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how however appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He told me not to do it. However, I did it anyway. / I did it anyway, however. / I, however, did it anyway.
  2. She wanted to go; however, she decided against it.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "however"?
"however" is spelled H-O-W-E-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /haʊˈɛv.ə/.
What does "however" mean?
As an adverb, "however" means: Sin embargo, no obstante.
How do you pronounce "however"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "however" is /haʊˈɛv.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "however" come from?
"however" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "however", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list