bien entendu

\bjɛ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy\

/\bjɛ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy\/ adv

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

The verdict

“bien entendu” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Naturellement ; évidemment ; bien sûr.

Key facts for bien entendu
PropertyValue
Headwordbien entendu
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\bjɛ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bien entendu” sits in French frequency

bien entendu falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for bien entendu is 12 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bjɛ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Naturellement ; évidemment ; bien sûr.".

No misspelling variants are generated for bien entendu in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is bien entendu, spelled B-I-E-N- -E-N-T-E-N-D-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Naturellement ; évidemment ; bien sûr.

Synonyms

comme de bien entendu

This word in other languages

of course(English)naturalmente(Español)natürlich(Deutsch)compreensivelmente(Português)

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 "bien entendu"?
"bien entendu" is spelled B-I-E-N- -E-N-T-E-N-D-U. The IPA pronunciation is \bjɛ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy\.
What does "bien entendu" mean?
As an adverb, "bien entendu" means: Naturellement ; évidemment ; bien sûr.
How do you pronounce "bien entendu"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bien entendu" is \bjɛ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bien entendu" come from?
"bien entendu" 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 “bien entendu”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-I-E-N- -E-N-T-E-N-D-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bjɛ̃.n‿ɑ̃.tɑ̃.dy\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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