brave

\bʁav\

/\bʁav\/ adj

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

The verdict

“brave” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #7,792 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#7,792
frequency rank, French
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Courageux ; vaillant

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

brave vs bre
60% similar
brave vs brie
60% similar
brave vs bray
60% similar

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

Key facts for brave
PropertyValue
Headwordbrave
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\bʁav\
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,792
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “brave” 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). brave 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 brave is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bʁav\. Corpus data places it at rank #7,792 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for brave, with forms such as "barve", "bbrave", and "braev". 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, "bre", "brie", "bray", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is brave, spelled B-R-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Courageux ; vaillant
  2. 2
    Serviable ; honnête ; bon ; obligeant.
  3. 3
    Qualifie une personne très gentille mais un peu stupide.
  4. 4
    Gentil, serviable, accommodant, obligeant.
  5. 5
    Qui a un costume soigné.
  6. 6
    En s’adressant à des gens de condition inférieure.
  7. 7
    Fort, grand, important.
  8. 8
    Adjectif attribué à des militaires en service armé.
  9. 9
    Adjectif attribué traditionnellement - et parfois ironiquement - à certains généraux de l'armée.
  10. 10
    Sens littéral :
  11. 11
    Sens dérivé :

This word in other languages

brave(English)bravo(Español)brav(Deutsch)bravo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: barve,bbrave,braev,bravve,brrave,brvae,rbave

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of brave - 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.

barve2bbrave1braev2bravve1brrave1brvae2rbave2
Edit distance from "brave"

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 "brave"?
"brave" is spelled B-R-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bʁav\.
What does "brave" mean?
As an adjective, "brave" means: Courageux ; vaillant
What words are commonly confused with "brave"?
"brave" is commonly confused with "bre", "brie", "bray". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brave" is \bʁav\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "brave" come from?
"brave" 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 “brave”

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

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