petit

/ˈpɛti/

//ˈpɛti// adj

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

"petit" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“petit” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,456 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#20,456
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petite: small, little.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

petit vs pit
60% similar
petit vs pets
60% similar
petit vs Pitt
40% similar

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

Key facts for petit
PropertyValue
Headwordpetit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɛti/
Letters5
Frequency rank#20,456
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “petit” 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). petit lands here:

#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 petit is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɛti/. Corpus data places it at rank #20,456 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 petit, with forms such as "eptit", "peitt", and "petitt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pit", "pets", "Pitt", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Late Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (“part, bit, piece”) (see Latin pettia), or of imitative origin. Compare also Latin pitinnus (“small”), pitulus, Italia… The correct English form is petit, spelled P-E-T-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petite: small, little.
  2. 2
    Petty, in its various senses:
  3. 3
    Petty, in its various senses:
  4. 4
    Petty, in its various senses:
  5. 5
    Petty, in its various senses:

Etymology

From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Late Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (“part, bit, piece”) (see Latin pettia), or of imitative origin. Compare also Latin pitinnus (“small”), pitulus, Italian pezza. Doublet of petty.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eptit,peitt,petitt,petti,pettit,ppetit,pteit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of petit - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

eptit2peitt2petitt1petti2pettit1ppetit1pteit2
Edit distance from "petit"

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 "petit"?
"petit" is spelled P-E-T-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛti/.
What does "petit" mean?
As an adjective, "petit" means: Petite: small, little.
What words are commonly confused with "petit"?
"petit" is commonly confused with "pit", "pets", "Pitt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "petit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "petit" is /ˈpɛti/. 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 "petit"?
From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Late Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (“part, bit, piece”) (see Latin pettia), or of imitative origin. Compare also Latin pitinnus (“small”), pitul... 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.

Using “petit”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-E-T-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈpɛti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pit” - see the side-by-side comparison. petit vs pit
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list