bagatelle

/ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/

//ˌbæɡəˈtɛl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bagatelle" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bagatelle” is uncommon English (frequency #90,173 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#90,173
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A trifle; an insubstantial thing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bagatelle · bagatelle · English

bagatelle · rank #90,173 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #90,173
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bairn

Nearest frequency peer: bairn (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Long-tail ranks near “bagatelle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “bagatelle” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for bagatelle
PropertyValue
Headwordbagatelle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/
Letters9
Frequency rank#90,173
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bagatelle” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).bagatellefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “bairn” (#90,174), “backlink” (#90,171), “Banbridge” (#90,177). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bagatelle” is #90,173. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bagatelle is uncommon English at frequency #90,173 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for bagatelle in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French bagatelle, from Italian bagattella. The correct English form is bagatelle, spelled B-A-G-A-T-E-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A trifle; an insubstantial thing.
  2. 2
    A short piece of literature or of instrumental music, typically light or playful in character.
  3. 3
    A game similar to billiards played on an oblong table with pockets or arches at one end only.
  4. 4
    Any of several smaller wooden tabletop games developed from the original bagatelle in which the pockets are made of pins.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sir C. Oh! dear madam, don't ask me, it's a very foolish song—a mere bagatelle. Char. Oh! Sir Callaghan, I will admit of no excuse.
  2. […] the jails were larger and fuller, the number of murders was incomparably greater, the thefts and swindlings in the old country were a bagatelle to the large depredations there […]

Etymology

Borrowed from French bagatelle, from Italian bagattella.

This word in other languages

bagatela(Español)bagatelle(Français)Bagatelle(Deutsch)

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bagatelle"?
"bagatelle" is spelled B-A-G-A-T-E-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/.
What does "bagatelle" mean?
As a noun, "bagatelle" means: A trifle; an insubstantial thing.
How do you pronounce "bagatelle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bagatelle" is /ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bagatelle"?
Borrowed from French bagatelle, from Italian bagattella. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Banbridge#90,177Billerica#90,207bupropion#90,236buttering#90,243

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list