bourdonner

\buʁ.dɔ.ne\

/\buʁ.dɔ.ne\/ verb

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

The verdict

“bourdonner” is uncommon French (frequency #98,820 among 227,490 “B” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,820
frequency rank, French
227,490
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Émettre un bourdonnement en parlant principalement des battements d’ailes des insectes, des petits oiseaux.

Key facts for bourdonner
PropertyValue
Headwordbourdonner
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\buʁ.dɔ.ne\
Letters10
Frequency rank#98,820
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bourdonner” 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). bourdonner 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

bourdonner is uncommon French at frequency #98,820 among 227,490 “B” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \buʁ.dɔ.ne\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for bourdonner in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

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 bourdonner, spelled B-O-U-R-D-O-N-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Émettre un bourdonnement en parlant principalement des battements d’ailes des insectes, des petits oiseaux.
  2. 2
    Fait qu’un objet, qu’une machine, qu’une surface émette des vibrations plus ou moins sonores.
  3. 3
    Quand un grand nombre de personnes émettent un murmure sourd et confus en discutant entre elles.
  4. 4
    Ressentir un bruit sourd et lancinant dans sa tête.
  5. 5
    S’agiter, bouillonner en parlant d’un lieu ou de personnes.
  6. 6
    Fredonner une chanson à mi-voix entre ses dents.
  7. 7
    Importuner par des paroles, des lamentations, des discours.
  8. 8
    Faire résonner une cloche sans la sonner en branle.
  9. 9
    Émettre un bourdon.

Synonyms

bobinerzonzonnerzinzonnerzonner

This word in other languages

buzz(English)zumbar(Español)surren(Deutsch)zumbir(Português)

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 "bourdonner"?
"bourdonner" is spelled B-O-U-R-D-O-N-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \buʁ.dɔ.ne\.
What does "bourdonner" mean?
As a verb, "bourdonner" means: Émettre un bourdonnement en parlant principalement des battements d’ailes des insectes, des petits oiseaux.
How do you pronounce "bourdonner"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bourdonner" is \buʁ.dɔ.ne\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bourdonner" come from?
"bourdonner" 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 “bourdonner”

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-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \buʁ.dɔ.ne\ (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