pense-bête

\pɑ̃s bɛt\

/\pɑ̃s bɛt\/ noun

The verdict

“pense-bête” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Collection de notes destinée à ne pas oublier les tâches à réaliser.

Corpus desk

Index FR-pense-bete · pense-bête · French

pense-bête · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for pense-bête
PropertyValue
Headwordpense-bête
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɑ̃s bɛt\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « pense-bête » en français

pense-bêtesiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pense-bête is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɑ̃s bɛt\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Collection de notes destinée à ne pas oublier les tâches à réaliser.".

Zero misspellings are on record for pense-bête in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is pense-bête, spelled P-E-N-S-E---B-Ê-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Collection de notes destinée à ne pas oublier les tâches à réaliser.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how pense-bête appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Certaines vont perdre le sens du temps, et il leur faudra un pense-bête.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pense-bête"?
"pense-bête" is spelled P-E-N-S-E---B-Ê-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pɑ̃s bɛt\.
What does "pense-bête" mean?
As a noun, "pense-bête" means: Collection de notes destinée à ne pas oublier les tâches à réaliser.
How do you pronounce "pense-bête"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pense-bête" is \pɑ̃s bɛt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pense-bête" come from?
"pense-bête" 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list