bourdonnement

\buʁ.dɔn.mɑ̃\

/\buʁ.dɔn.mɑ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“bourdonnement” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #38,175 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#38,175
frequency rank, French
13
letters
18
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Son d’une vibration rapide émis par certains types d’insectes comme l’abeille et la guêpe —ainsi que quelques petits oiseaux— quand ils volent.

Key facts for bourdonnement
PropertyValue
Headwordbourdonnement
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\buʁ.dɔn.mɑ̃\
Letters13
Frequency rank#38,175
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bourdonnement” 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). bourdonnement 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 bourdonnement is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \buʁ.dɔn.mɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #38,175 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for bourdonnement, with forms such as "bbourdonnement", "borudonnement", and "boudronnement". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

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 bourdonnement, spelled B-O-U-R-D-O-N-N-E-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Son d’une vibration rapide émis par certains types d’insectes comme l’abeille et la guêpe —ainsi que quelques petits oiseaux— quand ils volent.
  2. 2
    Murmure sourd et confus d’un grand nombre de voix.
  3. 3
    Acouphène.
  4. 4
    Son sourd produit par un appareil à moteur.
  5. 5
    Son sourd produit par un équipement électrique.
  6. 6
    Vibrations aéroélastiques de faible amplitude affectant la cellule d’un avion.

Synonyms

chant d’abeilles

This word in other languages

buzz(English)zumbido(Español)Summen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbourdonnement,borudonnement,boudronnement,bourddonnement,bourdnonement,bourdonement,bourdonenment,bourdonneemnt,bourdonnemennt,bourdonnementt,bourdonnemetn,bourdonnemment,bourdonnemnet,bourdonnmeent,bourodnnement,bourrdonnement,buordonnement,oburdonnement

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbourdonnement1borudonnement2boudronnement2bourddonnement1bourdnonement2bourdonement1bourdonenment2bourdonneemnt2
Edit distance from "bourdonnement"

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 "bourdonnement"?
"bourdonnement" is spelled B-O-U-R-D-O-N-N-E-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \buʁ.dɔn.mɑ̃\.
What does "bourdonnement" mean?
As a noun, "bourdonnement" means: Son d’une vibration rapide émis par certains types d’insectes comme l’abeille et la guêpe —ainsi que quelques petits oiseaux— quand ils volent.
What are common misspellings of "bourdonnement"?
Common misspellings include "bbourdonnement", "borudonnement", "boudronnement", "bourddonnement", "bourdnonement". The correct spelling is "bourdonnement".
How do you pronounce "bourdonnement"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bourdonnement" is \buʁ.dɔn.mɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bourdonnement" come from?
"bourdonnement" 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 “bourdonnement”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-U-R-D-O-N-N-E-M-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \buʁ.dɔn.mɑ̃\ (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