bas

\ba\

/\ba\/ adj

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

The verdict

“bas” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #343 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#343
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui a peu de hauteur ou d’élévation.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

bas vs by
33% similar
bas vs be
33% similar
bas vs BD
0% similar

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

Key facts for bas
PropertyValue
Headwordbas
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ba\
Letters3
Frequency rank#343
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bas” sits in French 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). bas 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 French entry for bas is 3 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ba\. Corpus data places it at rank #343 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for bas in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "be", "BD", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is bas, spelled B-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui a peu de hauteur ou d’élévation.
  2. 2
    Qui est situé à un niveau inférieur.
  3. 3
    Qualifie un lieu dont l’altitude est inférieure que celui d’où descendent les rivières qui les arrosent.
  4. 4
    Baissé, par opposition à levé, redressé.
  5. 5
    Grave.
  6. 6
    Qui est inférieur, moindre ou subalterne.
  7. 7
    Qui est vil, méprisable, contraire à la noblesse.
  8. 8
    Qui est trivial ou populaire, en parlant du registre de langage.
  9. 9
    Qualifie le ciel lorsqu’il est chargé de nuages moins élevés qu’à l’ordinaire, signe que le temps menace de pluie.
  10. 10
    Qualifie les classes par où commencent les écoliers, les classes élémentaires.
  11. 11
    Qualifiait, dans les places, les casemates et flancs de bastions qui servaient à défendre le fossé et la courtine.

Synonyms

courtcourt sur jambescourt sur pattespetitmesquinvilfamiliervulgairecouvertgrismenaçantnuageux

Antonyms

hautélevéaigusupérieurnoblesoutenudégagé

This word in other languages

low(English)bajo(Español)niedrig(Deutsch)baixo(Português)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bas"?
"bas" is spelled B-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ba\.
What does "bas" mean?
As an adjective, "bas" means: Qui a peu de hauteur ou d’élévation.
What words are commonly confused with "bas"?
"bas" is commonly confused with "by", "be", "BD". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bas"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bas" is \ba\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bas" come from?
"bas" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “bas”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-A-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ba\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “by” - see the side-by-side comparison. bas vs by
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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