bistro
/ˈbiːstɹəʊ/
"bistro" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bistro” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,072 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #27,072
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small casual restaurant or pub, typically serving French-style cuisine.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bistro |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbiːstɹəʊ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #27,072 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bistro” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bistro is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbiːstɹəʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,072 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A small casual restaurant or pub, typically serving French-style cuisine.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for bistro, with forms such as "bbistro", "bisrto", and "bisstro". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested from c. 1920, from the French bistro(t) with the original meaning "proprietor of a tavern" (1880s), of unknown origin, presumably regional French dialect. See the French etymology for more. The correct English form is bistro, spelled B-I-S-T-R-O.
Definition
- 1A small casual restaurant or pub, typically serving French-style cuisine.
Etymology
Attested from c. 1920, from the French bistro(t) with the original meaning "proprietor of a tavern" (1880s), of unknown origin, presumably regional French dialect. See the French etymology for more.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbistro,bisrto,bisstro,bistor,bistrro,bisttro,bitsro,bsitro,ibstro
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bistro - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "bistro"?
What does "bistro" mean?
What are common misspellings of "bistro"?
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Using “bistro”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-I-S-T-R-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbiːstɹəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.