belette

\bə.lɛt\

/\bə.lɛt\/ noun

The verdict

“belette” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #46,023 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#46,023
frequency rank, French
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petit mammifère carnassier, de forme effilée et de couleur rousse, qui a le museau pointu et les pattes courtes (Mustela nivalis).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

belette vs bette
71% similar
belette vs belote
71% similar
belette vs buvette
71% similar

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

Key facts for belette
PropertyValue
Headwordbelette
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bə.lɛt\
Letters7
Frequency rank#46,023
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “belette” 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). belette 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 belette is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bə.lɛt\. Corpus data places it at rank #46,023 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for belette, with forms such as "bbelette", "beeltte", and "belete". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "bette", "belote", "buvette", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is belette, spelled B-E-L-E-T-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petit mammifère carnassier, de forme effilée et de couleur rousse, qui a le museau pointu et les pattes courtes (Mustela nivalis).
  2. 2
    Jeune fille ou jeune femme charmante.
  3. 3
    Fille naïve et idiote, féminin argotique de « blaireau ».
  4. 4
    Curieux, personne curieuse.

Synonyms

belette d’Europebelette pygméepetite belette

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbelette,beeltte,belete,beletet,bellette,beltete,bleette,eblette

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbelette1beeltte2belete1beletet2bellette1beltete2bleette2eblette2
Edit distance from "belette"

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 "belette"?
"belette" is spelled B-E-L-E-T-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bə.lɛt\.
What does "belette" mean?
As a noun, "belette" means: Petit mammifère carnassier, de forme effilée et de couleur rousse, qui a le museau pointu et les pattes courtes (Mustela nivalis).
What words are commonly confused with "belette"?
"belette" is commonly confused with "bette", "belote", "buvette". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "belette"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "belette" is \bə.lɛt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "belette" come from?
"belette" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “belette”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-E-L-E-T-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bə.lɛt\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “bette” - see the side-by-side comparison. belette vs bette
  • 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