braille
/ˈbɹeɪl/
"braille" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“braille” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,472 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,472
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A system of writing in which letters and some combinations of letters are represented by raised dots arranged in three or four rows of two dots each and are read by the blind and partially sighted ...
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 | braille |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɹeɪl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #28,472 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “braille” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for braille is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɹeɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,472 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A system of writing in which letters and some combinations of letters are represented by raised dots arranged in three or four rows of two dots each and are read by the blind and partially sighted ...".
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for braille, with forms such as "barille", "bbraille", and "braile". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "brill", "bridle", "bramble", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French braille, named after French educator Louis Braille (1809–1852). The /eɪl/ seems to reflect a spelling pronunciation; French has /aj/ instead. The correct English form is braille, spelled B-R-A-I-L-L-E.
Definition
- 1A system of writing in which letters and some combinations of letters are represented by raised dots arranged in three or four rows of two dots each and are read by the blind and partially sighted using the fingertips.
Etymology
Borrowed from French braille, named after French educator Louis Braille (1809–1852). The /eɪl/ seems to reflect a spelling pronunciation; French has /aj/ instead.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: barille,bbraille,braile,brailel,bralile,brialle,brraille,rbaille
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of braille - 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
How do you spell "braille"?
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Using “braille”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-R-A-I-L-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɹeɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “brill” - see the side-by-side comparison. braille vs brill
- 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.