Is well being all one word

Словосочетания

Автоматический перевод

благополучие, здоровье

Перевод по словам

well  — ну, что ж, уж, хороший, хорошо, вполне, колодец, бить ключом
be  — быть, находиться, должен, тратта

Примеры

What is the difference between wellbeing and well-being?

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, once tweeted, “Compassion is concern for others–– sincere concern for others well-being founded on awareness of our experiences.” Whether you agree with the message or not, he’s got one thing right: it’s well-being, not wellbeing.

You don’t have to be a Tibetian monk to understand the difference between wellbeing and well-being. The two words represent the same concept, but only one of them possesses the correct spelling: “well-being.” 

Well-being ≠ wellbeing

It’s not hard to understand why so many writers misspell the word well-being. After all, there are several grammar rules that dictate the use of hyphens and compound words. But that’s the trick: the word ‘well-being’ isn’t a compound word. 

The word “well” of well-being is an adjective, while “being” (i.e., ‘state of being’ or ‘existence’) is a noun. Together, they form a distinct word that cannot modify another noun. Therefore, they must include a hyphen to convey a unique concept: ‘the condition of being well.’ 

Depending on how specific the topic is, we can use the word well-being to encompass mental health, life satisfaction, or physical health with phrases like ‘emotional well-being,’ ‘psychological well-being,’ or ‘physical well-being.’ 

It’s only within these phrases that “well-being” joins a compound phrase because words like ’emotional,’ ‘psychological,’ or ‘physical’ are all modifying adjectives. Typically, compound phrases with a modifying adjective are also hyphenated. But since ‘emotional well-being’ is not yet accepted as it’s own word, the phrase remains open. 

Additional tricky terms include: 

• Public health (not public-health)
• Health care or healthcare (not health-care)
• Caregiver (not care giver)
• Preexisting (not pre-existing) 
• Physical health (not physical-health) 
• Mental health (not mental-health)

What does well-being mean, anyways?

The word well-being (wɛlˈbi) is a mass noun defined as ‘the state of health, happiness, or prosperity.’ The noun is synonymous with the noun “welfare,” which Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines as, “The state of doing well” regarding “one’s happiness or success.”

But outside of linguistic sources, health care providers have a more comprehensive understanding of what “well-being” means to them. For instance, the Mayo Clinic’s Well-Being Index measures its employee’s level of ‘wellness’ based on factors involving work-life integration, coping mechanisms, and their quality of relaxation. 

Example sentences with “well-being” include: 

“I am concerned about your well-being.” 
“Counselors assess their patient’s well-being by tracking reports of negative vs. positive emotions.” 
“Some people believe their well-being depends on good fortune, while others believe it requires good health.”

Synonyms

Bliss, comfort, eudaimonia, felicity, fitness, good, healthiness, joy, protection, prosperity, security, success, weal, welfare, wellness, wholeness.

Antonyms

Ill-being, misery, sadness, suffering, unhappiness, unhealthiness, wretchedness. 

How to use well-being in a sentence?

To use the word well-being in a sentence correctly, it’s important to remember that it’s a noun. We cannot use “well-being” to modify other adjectives, verbs, or adverbs. And, as always, remember the hyphen! 

Recent examples from online publishers include: 

“Older people report feeling higher satisfaction, happiness and well-being — and less anxiety, depression and stress …” –– The New York Times
“Emotional well-being has a real impact on physical health.” –– Earth
“As COVID-19 threatens the health and well-being of people and communities across North America, financial-services firm Edward Jones is committing $2.7 million to support national and community organizations…” –– AP News
“Scientific literacy is critical to our nation’s well-being.” –– MinnPost
“‘Any suggestion to the contrary is a threat to the health and well-being of New Yorkers.’” –– The Oregonian 

Additional reading

If you’re interested in learning more about health-related grammar, check out our blogs on topics, such as:

• Affective vs. Effective
• Jealousy vs. Envy 
• Empathy vs. Sympathy
• Psychopath vs. Sociopath

FAQ: Related to wellbeing vs. well-being

Is well-being hyphenated in other languages?

The noun well-being doesn’t contain a hyphen in all languages. For example, the Spanish word for well-being is ‘bienestar,’ while Italian uses ‘benessere.’ However, French does hyphenate ‘bien-être,’ while Portuguese leaves it open with ‘bem estar.’ 

Additional translations of well-being include: 

Afrikaans: welstand

German: Wohlbefinden or Gemütlichkeit

Vietnamese: hạnh phúc

Swahili: ustawi

Japanese: Kōfuku

Zulu: inhlala-kahle

Test Yourself!

Learning new words is difficult, but “well-being” doesn’t need to be one of them. Perfect your understanding of wellbeing vs. well-being with the following multiple-choice questions. 

1. Which of the following spellings is correct?
   a. Well being
   b. Wellbeing
   c. Well-being
   d. All of the above
2. True or false: well-being is a compound word.
   a. True
   b. False
3. Which of the following words is a compound word?
   a. Public health
   b. Health care
   c. Caregiver
   d. All of the above
4. Which of the following terms is not a synonym of well-being?
   a. Eudaimonia
   b. Protection
   c. Wretchedness
   d. Welfare
5. The word well-ness is a _____________.
   a. Noun
   b. Verb
   c. Adjective
   d. A and C

Answers

1. C
2. B
3. D
4. C
5. A

Sources

1. “Being.” Lexico, Oxford University Press, 2020.
2. Brody, Bob. “Why It’s Good to Be Old, Even in a Pandemic.” The New York Times, 28 July 20200. 
3. “Edward Jones Commits Support for Communities in Response to COVID-19.” The Associated Press, 21 Apr 2020. 
4. “German Word of the Day: Die Gemütlichkeit.” The Local, 27 Sept 2018. 
5. Sun, Lena H., Amy Brittain. “Meet the New York couple donating millions to the anti-vax movement.” The Oregonian, 19 June 2019. 
6. “Welfare.” The Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster Inc., 2020.
7. “Well.” Lexico, Oxford University Press, 2020.
8. “Well-being.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2020. 
9. “Well-being.” Lexico, Oxford University Press, 2020.
10. “Hyphenation Principles.” APA Style, American Psychological Association, 2020. 

Since English has been spoken for hundreds of years, some constructions and word combinations that were invented several centuries ago seem odd today. The noun well-being seems like it could be formed as a compound, like wellbeing, or left as separate words, as well being, but despite its length history, only one spelling has ever been standard.

The word pairing well-being has been in use since the 16th century, and, ever since the beginning, there has only been one standard spelling.

Continue reading to find out.

In this post, I will compare wellbeing vs. well-being. I will outline which of these spellings is correct and guide you on its correct use.

Plus, I will show you a helpful memory tool that will help you choose well-being or wellbeing in your own future writing.

When to Use Well-being

What does well-being mean? Well-being is a noun. It describes good health and good fortune, or more generally, wellness.

A considerate person acts to promote the well-being of others, and doctors practice medicine to prolong and enhance the well-being of patients.

The sentences below are examples of well-being in context,

• “We have to consider the well-being of the child when making a foster home placement,” said the director.
• Well-being is a function of a healthy lifestyle, a positive view of one’s place in the world, and the support of valued peers.

Well-being is an old word. Merriam-Webster notes its first recorded use in 1561, nearly five centuries ago. At this point in history, well-being is the established and predominant spelling (see below) and a well-established part of the English language.

When to Use Wellbeing

What does wellbeing mean? Wellbeing is a misspelling of well-being. Despite its long history, well-being has never morphed into a single word and remains hyphenated to this day.

Some writers do not hyphenate well-being, separating the two words into well being. This, too, is nonstandard and most style guides advise against it. The AP Stylebook and Garner’s Modern English Usage, for instance, both state that well-being is hyphenated.

This, however, doesn’t mean these words will never appear adjacent to one another in sentences.

For example,

• Alex Rodriguez did well being a shortstop for the Seattle Mariners, but when be played third base for the New York Yankees, he came to be perceived as a villain.

As you can see, well and being appear next to each other in the sentence above. In this sentence, however, the words do not carry the same meaning as the hyphenated well-being.

Additionally, the graph below, which charts well-being vs. wellbeing vs. well being over time, illustrates the points made above: well-being is much more common than wellbeing and well being in modern English.

This graph is not scientific (it only looks at books published in English since 1800), but it clearly illustrates a dominant long-term trend.

Trick to Remember the Difference

The hyphenated well-being is the standard form of this noun. The single-word wellbeing and the two-word well being are not accepted variants.

Remember that well is an adjective and being is a verb. To form a noun, they must be hyphenated; well-being is not a compound word.

Remember that when words that are different parts of speech are combined, they are hyphenated. The hyphen in well-being is your clue that it is the correct version of this word.

Summary

Is it wellbeing or well-being? Well-being is a noun that means good health or good fortune.

• Well-being is a synonym of the words wellness and welfare.
• Wellbeing and well being are nonstandard variants of this noun, and should be avoided.

To summarize succinctly,

• Use well-being
• Avoid wellbeing or well being.

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.