pastille

Name: pastille, French Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

\pas.tij\

/\pas.tij\/ noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“pastille” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #38,967 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#38,967
frequency rank, French: 8
letters: 10
tracked misspellings: 8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petits morceaux de pâte séchée, de différentes formes, utilisée en confiserie et en pharmacie où l'on considère que ce sont des saccharolés solidifiés.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pastille vs pastilles

89% similar

pastille vs paille

75% similar

pastille vs pareille

75% similar

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

Key facts for pastille
Property	Value
Headword	pastille
Language	French
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	\pas.tij\
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#38,967
Misspellings tracked	10
Confusable pairs	8
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pastille” 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). pastille lands here:

#38,967

#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 pastille is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pas.tij\. Corpus data places it at rank #38,967 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for pastille, with forms such as "apstille", "pasitlle", and "passtille". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "pastilles", "paille", "pareille", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is pastille, spelled P-A-S-T-I-L-L-E.

Definition

1
Petits morceaux de pâte séchée, de différentes formes, utilisée en confiserie et en pharmacie où l'on considère que ce sont des saccharolés solidifiés.
2
Nom donné parfois improprement à d'autres galéniques.
3
Petits pains de diverses formes et composés de différentes substances odorantes, dont on se sert ordinairement pour parfumer l’air d’une chambre, en les brûlant.
4
Élément décoratif de forme plate.
5
Zone conductrice d’un circuit imprimé, utilisée entre autres pour la fixation d’un composant.
6
Petit cylindre de matière fissile destiné à servir de combustible à un réacteur de centrale nucléaire.
7
Autocollant placé sur un produit pour indiquer une propriété ou une caractéristique particulière.
8
Sujet court.

This word in other languages

land(English)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apstille,pasitlle,passtille,pastile,pastilel,pastlile,pasttille,patsille,ppastille,psatille

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "pastille"

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 "pastille"?

"pastille" is spelled P-A-S-T-I-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pas.tij\.

What does "pastille" mean?

As a noun, "pastille" means: Petits morceaux de pâte séchée, de différentes formes, utilisée en confiserie et en pharmacie où l'on considère que ce sont des saccharolés solidifiés.

What words are commonly confused with "pastille"?

"pastille" is commonly confused with "pastilles", "paille", "pareille". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "pastille"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pastille" is \pas.tij\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "pastille" come from?

"pastille" 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 “pastille”

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

The one correct French spelling is P-A-S-T-I-L-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as \pas.tij\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “pastilles” - see the side-by-side comparison. pastille vs pastilles
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.