belle-de-nuit

\bɛl.də.nɥi\

/\bɛl.də.nɥi\/ noun

The verdict

“belle-de-nuit” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nom vernaculaire de Mirabilis jalapa plante exotique de la famille des Nyctaginaceae, dont les fleurs, qui ressemblent à celles du liseron, ne s’épanouissent guère qu’après le coucher du soleil.

Corpus desk

Index FR-belle-de-nuit · belle-de-nuit · French

belle-de-nuit · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for belle-de-nuit
PropertyValue
Headwordbelle-de-nuit
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bɛl.də.nɥi\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « belle-de-nuit » en français

belle-de-nuitreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

belle-de-nuit is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \bɛl.də.nɥi\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for belle-de-nuit in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is belle-de-nuit, spelled B-E-L-L-E---D-E---N-U-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom vernaculaire de Mirabilis jalapa plante exotique de la famille des Nyctaginaceae, dont les fleurs, qui ressemblent à celles du liseron, ne s’épanouissent guère qu’après le coucher du soleil.
  2. 2
    Nom vernaculaire de Ipomoea violacea plante annuelle de la famille des Convolvulaceae dont les fleurs s'ouvrent la nuit.
  3. 3
    Nom vernaculaire de Epiphyllum oxypetalum, plante de la famille des Cactaceae, nommé ainsi car sa fleur s’ouvre la nuit.
  4. 4
    Prostituée.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Alors je vois, je sens, j’entends ; la lune réveille les gros papillons ; le vent chaud ouvre les belles-de-nuit ; l’eau des grands bassins s’endort.
  2. Des odeurs pâmées montaient des brins de chèvrefeuille, les corolles des belles-de-nuit jetaient une dernière senteur pénétrante, comme un adieu mélancolique au jour.

Synonyms

nyctagefaux jalap

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "belle-de-nuit"?
"belle-de-nuit" is spelled B-E-L-L-E---D-E---N-U-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is \bɛl.də.nɥi\.
What does "belle-de-nuit" mean?
As a noun, "belle-de-nuit" means: Nom vernaculaire de Mirabilis jalapa plante exotique de la famille des Nyctaginaceae, dont les fleurs, qui ressemblent à celles du liseron, ne s’épanouissent guère qu’après le coucher du soleil.
How do you pronounce "belle-de-nuit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "belle-de-nuit" is \bɛl.də.nɥi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "belle-de-nuit" come from?
"belle-de-nuit" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list