Français homophones

be/bee/bi/bie/bis/by

"be" is a verb; "bee" is a noun - grammar picks the spelling, not sound. Size rank #20 of 9,139 French groups.

Data vintage 2026-05-06

Grammar picks the spelling

Same sound, different grammar: "be" arrives as a verb, while "bee" is a noun. Once the sentence role is fixed, only one spelling fits.

Spelling pairs in this cluster

Shared stem "be" then splits - "be" (2 letters) vs "bee" (3).
Single-letter fork: "be" keeps e, "bi" writes i at letter 2.
No shared spelling stem: "be" is 2 letters, "bie" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "be" is 2 letters, "bis" is 3; only the sound ties them.
Single-letter fork: "be" keeps e, "by" writes y at letter 2.
No shared spelling stem: "bee" is 3 letters, "bi" is 2; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "bee" is 3 letters, "bie" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "bee" is 3 letters, "bis" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "bee" is 3 letters, "by" is 2; only the sound ties them.
Shared stem "bi" then splits - "bi" (2 letters) vs "bie" (3).
Shared stem "bi" then splits - "bi" (2 letters) vs "bis" (3).
Single-letter fork: "bi" keeps i, "by" writes y at letter 2.
Single-letter fork: "bie" keeps e, "bis" writes s at letter 3.
No shared spelling stem: "bie" is 3 letters, "by" is 2; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "bis" is 3 letters, "by" is 2; only the sound ties them.

Orthographic DNA of this cluster

Shared letters across be, bee, bi, bie, bis, by: b. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.

be
2 letters · 1 vowels · shape CV
Inventory be · private e
bee
3 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVV
Inventory be · private e
bi
2 letters · 1 vowels · shape CV
Inventory bi · private i
bie
3 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVV
Inventory bei · private ei
bis
3 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVC
Inventory bis · private is
by
2 letters · 1 vowels · shape CV
Inventory by · private y

Pick the spelling from the meaning

Write "be" when you mean: Être.
Write "bee" when you mean: Variante de bi : travail fait en commun.
Write "bi" when you mean: Bisexuel.
Write "bie" when you mean: Bisexuelle, biromantique.
Write "bis" when you mean: Qui est d’un gris beige foncé #766F64 ou clair #F1E2BE.
Write "by" when you mean: Fossé qui traverse un étang, aboutissant à sa bonde.

Each spelling

verb · /\biː\/ · #4,044 frequency

Être.

bee

noun · /\bi\/ · #28,072 frequency

Variante de bi : travail fait en commun.

adjective · /\bi\/ · #7,281 frequency

Bisexuel.

bie

noun · /\bi\/ · #46,026 frequency

Bisexuelle, biromantique.

bis

adjective · /\bi\/ · #7,530 frequency

Qui est d’un gris beige foncé #766F64 ou clair #F1E2BE.

noun · /\bi\/ · #2,462 frequency

Fossé qui traverse un étang, aboutissant à sa bonde.