belief

Name: belief, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/bɪˈliːf/

//bɪˈliːf// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“belief” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,211 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,211
frequency rank, English: 6
letters: 8
tracked misspellings: 10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mental acceptance of a claim as true.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

belief vs brief

67% similar

belief vs belle

67% similar

belief vs Belize

50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for belief
Property	Value
Headword	belief
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/bɪˈliːf/
Letters	6
Frequency rank	#3,211
Misspellings tracked	8
Confusable pairs	10
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “belief” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). belief lands here:

#3,211

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for belief is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɪˈliːf/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,211 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for belief, with forms such as "bbelief", "beilef", and "beleif". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "brief", "belle", "Belize", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *laubō Proto-West Germanic *laubu Old English lēafa Middle English bileve English belief From Middle English bileve, from Old English lēafa, from Proto-West Germanic *laubu from Proto-Germanic *l… The correct English form is belief, spelled B-E-L-I-E-F.

Definition

1
Mental acceptance of a claim as true.
2
Faith or trust in the reality of something; often based upon one's own reasoning, trust in a claim, desire of actuality, and/or evidence considered.
3
Something believed.
4
The quality or state of believing.
5
Religious faith.
6
One's religious or moral convictions.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *laubō Proto-West Germanic *laubu Old English lēafa Middle English bileve English belief From Middle English bileve, from Old English lēafa, from Proto-West Germanic *laubu from Proto-Germanic *laubō. Compare German Glaube (“faith, belief”). The replacement of final /v/ with /f/ is due to the analogy of noun-verb pairs with /f/ in the noun but /v/ in the verb, creating a pair belief : believe on the model of e.g. grief : grieve or proof : prove.

Synonyms

assumption premise faith opinion tenet conviction

Antonyms

disbelief

This word in other languages

creencia(Español)croyance(Français)Glauben(Deutsch)crença(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbelief,beilef,beleif,belieff,belife,bellief,bleief,eblief

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of belief - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "belief"

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 "belief"?

"belief" is spelled B-E-L-I-E-F. The IPA pronunciation is /bɪˈliːf/.

What does "belief" mean?

As a noun, "belief" means: Mental acceptance of a claim as true.

What words are commonly confused with "belief"?

"belief" is commonly confused with "brief", "belle", "Belize". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "belief"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "belief" is /bɪˈliːf/. 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 "belief"?

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.

Using “belief”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is B-E-L-I-E-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /bɪˈliːf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “brief” - see the side-by-side comparison. belief vs brief
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.