bento
/ˈbɛntəʊ/
"bento" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bento” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #41,526 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #41,526
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A Japanese takeaway lunch served in a box, often with the food arranged into an elaborate design.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bento |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɛntəʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #41,526 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bento” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bento is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɛntəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #41,526 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for bento, with forms such as "bbento", "bennto", and "benot". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bet", "best", "beta", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 弁(べん)当(とう) (bentō). Doublet of biandang. The correct English form is bento, spelled B-E-N-T-O.
Definition
- 1A Japanese takeaway lunch served in a box, often with the food arranged into an elaborate design.
- 2Synonym of bento box (“a partitioned, traditionally lacquered, lunchbox in which a Japanese takeaway lunch is served”).
- 3A generic meal packed in a disposable bento box.
- 4A menu icon of nine squares in a grid.
- 5A layout consisting of cards arranged in a modular, irregularly partitioned grid.
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 弁(べん)当(とう) (bentō). Doublet of biandang.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbento,bennto,benot,bentto,betno,bneto,ebnto
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bento - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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
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Using “bento”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-N-T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɛntəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “bet” - see the side-by-side comparison. bento vs bet
- 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.