bouffonne

\bu.fɔn\

/\bu.fɔn\/ noun

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

The verdict

“bouffonne” is uncommon French (frequency #72,126 among 227,490 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,126
frequency rank, French
227,490
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Personnage dont la fonction était d’amuser la cour des nobles.

Key facts for bouffonne
PropertyValue
Headwordbouffonne
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bu.fɔn\
Letters9
Frequency rank#72,126
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bouffonne” 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). bouffonne lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bouffonne is uncommon French at frequency #72,126 among 227,490 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \bu.fɔn\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bouffonne, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is bouffonne, spelled B-O-U-F-F-O-N-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Personnage dont la fonction était d’amuser la cour des nobles.
  2. 2
    Personnage de théâtre dont l’emploi est de faire rire.
  3. 3
    Personne stupide ou ridicule.

This word in other languages

joculatrix(English)hazmerreír(Español)Närrin(Deutsch)

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 "bouffonne"?
"bouffonne" is spelled B-O-U-F-F-O-N-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bu.fɔn\.
What does "bouffonne" mean?
As a noun, "bouffonne" means: Personnage dont la fonction était d’amuser la cour des nobles.
How do you pronounce "bouffonne"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bouffonne" is \bu.fɔn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bouffonne" come from?
"bouffonne" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “bouffonne”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-U-F-F-O-N-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bu.fɔn\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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