bagatelle
/ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/noun, verb
bagatelle is spelled B-A-G-A-T-E-L-L-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bagatelle means “A trifle; an insubstantial thing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bagatelle is bagatelles.
How many letters and syllables are in bagatelle?
| Letters | 9: B-A-G-A-T-E-L-L-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is bagatelle?
Bagatelle appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd 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 bagatelle?
- /ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bagatelle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bagatelle
- bagatelles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bagatelling participle, present
- bagatelled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bagatelle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A trifle; an insubstantial thing.
- 2
A short piece of literature or of instrumental music, typically light or playful in character.
- 3
A game similar to billiards played on an oblong table with pockets or arches at one end only.
- 4
Any of several smaller wooden tabletop games developed from the original bagatelle in which the pockets are made of pins.
verb
- 1
rareTo meander or move around, in a manner similar to the ball in the game of bagatelle.
- 2
rareTo bagatellize; to regard as a bagatelle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bagatelle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense trifle:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bagatelle, broutille |
| German | Bagatelle, Kleinigkeit, Nichtigkeit, Geringfügigkeit, Belanglosigkeit, Unwichtigkeit |
| Spanish | bagatela, pequeñez, nimiedad, nadería, menudencia, fruslería |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bagatelle come from?
Borrowed from French bagatelle, from Italian bagattella.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).