bureau

/ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ/

//ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bureau" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bureau” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,546. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,546
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An administrative unit of government; office.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bureau · bureau · English

bureau · rank #3,546 · 7 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,546
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH boost

Nearest frequency peer: boost (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “bureau”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “bureau” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

bureau vs Burma
50% similar
bureau vs bursa
67% similar
bureau vs burka
67% similar

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

Key facts for bureau
PropertyValue
Headwordbureau
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,546
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bureau”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).bureaulands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “boost” (#3,545), “colonel” (#3,547), “banned” (#3,544). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bureau” is #3,546. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around bureau (IPA /ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,546 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for bureau, with forms such as "bbureau", "brueau", and "buerau". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "Burma", "bursa", "burka", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel (“woolen cloth”), diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure (“coarse woolen cloth”), French bourre (“hair, fluff”)), from Late Latin burra (“w… The correct English form is bureau, spelled B-U-R-E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    An administrative unit of government; office.
  2. 2
    An organization or office for collecting or providing information or news.
  3. 3
    An office (room where clerical or professional duties are performed).
  4. 4
    A desk, usually with a cover and compartments that are located above the level of the writing surface rather than underneath, and often used for storing papers.
  5. 5
    A chest of drawers for clothes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bureau appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ashley Johnson is an energy, trade and economics expert at the National Bureau of Asian Research, based in the United States.
  2. a news bureau; a travel bureau; a service bureau; an employment bureau; the Citizens Advice Bureau

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel (“woolen cloth”), diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure (“coarse woolen cloth”), French bourre (“hair, fluff”)), from Late Latin burra (“wool, fluff, shaggy cloth, coarse fabric”); akin to Ancient Greek βερβέριον (berbérion, “shabby garment”). Doublet of burel and borrel, taken from Old French.

This word in other languages

departamento(Español)bureau(Français)Büro(Deutsch)escritório(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbureau
  • brueau
  • buerau
  • buraeu
  • bureua
  • burreau
  • ubreau

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbureau1brueau2buerau2buraeu2bureua2burreau1ubreau2
Edit distance from "bureau"

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 "bureau"?
"bureau" is spelled B-U-R-E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ/.
What does "bureau" mean?
As a noun, "bureau" means: An administrative unit of government; office.
What words are commonly confused with "bureau"?
"bureau" is commonly confused with "Burma", "bursa", "burka". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bureau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bureau" is /ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ/. 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 "bureau"?
Unadapted borrowing from French bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel (“woolen cloth”), diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure (“coarse woolen cloth”), French bourre (“hair, fluff”)), from Late Latin... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bureau", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

banned#3,544aspect#3,543Arthur#3,542cousin#3,550

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

virus7 variantsVegas7 variantsfoods7 variantshired7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list