bourse

\buʁs\

/\buʁs\/ noun

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

The verdict

“bourse” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,910 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,910
frequency rank, French
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petit sac de cuir, d’étoffe, ou d’un tissu quelconque, dans lequel on met l’argent qu’on veut porter sur soi.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bourse vs bure
67% similar
bourse vs buse
67% similar
bourse vs bouts
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bourse
PropertyValue
Headwordbourse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\buʁs\
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,910
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bourse” 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). bourse 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 bourse is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \buʁs\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,910 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for bourse, with forms such as "bbourse", "boruse", and "boures". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bure", "buse", "bouts", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is bourse, spelled B-O-U-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petit sac de cuir, d’étoffe, ou d’un tissu quelconque, dans lequel on met l’argent qu’on veut porter sur soi.
  2. 2
    Réserve ou disponibilités en argent d’une personne, argent dont on dispose actuellement ou habituellement.
  3. 3
    Allocation financière dans un but d’étude, de projets ; pension accordée à un élève ou à un étudiant pour lui permettre de suivre les cours d’une école ou d’une université.
  4. 4
    Longue poche faite de réseau qu’on met à l’entrée d’un terrier pour prendre les lapins qu’on chasse au furet.
  5. 5
    Double carton, couvert d’étoffe, dans lequel on met le corporal qui sert à la messe.
  6. 6
    Ce qui a la forme d’un petit sac : les membranes qui enveloppent les champignons quand ils sont encore jeunes (→ voir volva) ; les bourgeons de certains arbres à fruits ; les capsules des anthères.
  7. 7
    Scrotum, testicule.
  8. 8
    Petit sac ou poche membraneuse de l’organisme.

Synonyms

porte-monnaieportefeuille

This word in other languages

purse(English)bolsa(Español)Geldbörse(Deutsch)bolsa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbourse,boruse,boures,bourrse,boursse,bousre,buorse,oburse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bourse - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbourse1boruse2boures2bourrse1boursse1bousre2buorse2oburse2
Edit distance from "bourse"

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 "bourse"?
"bourse" is spelled B-O-U-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \buʁs\.
What does "bourse" mean?
As a noun, "bourse" means: Petit sac de cuir, d’étoffe, ou d’un tissu quelconque, dans lequel on met l’argent qu’on veut porter sur soi.
What words are commonly confused with "bourse"?
"bourse" is commonly confused with "bure", "buse", "bouts". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bourse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bourse" is \buʁs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bourse" come from?
"bourse" 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 “bourse”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-U-R-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \buʁs\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “bure” - see the side-by-side comparison. bourse vs bure
  • 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