Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

novelette

/nɒvəˈlɛt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.96 in modern English

Syllables: nov-el-ette
IPA: /nɒvəˈlɛt/

12

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A short novel, synonymous with novella.

noun

A story longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella.

noun

A short piece of lyrical music, especially one for the piano.

Example Sentences

"Best novella was Nnedi Okorafor’s African-flavoured space opera Binti (Tor), while best novelette was Folding Beijing by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu."
"Nebula Awards® will be made in the following categories […] Novelette: at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words[…]"

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *nu Proto-Indo-European *néwos Proto-Italic *nowos Latin novus Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -ellus Latin novellus Vulgar Latin *novella Italian novellabor. English novel Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Latin -ittus Old French -ettebor. Middle English -ette English -ette English novelette From novel + -ette.

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /nɒvəˈlɛt/

Inflected Forms

novelettes (plural)

Derived Forms

novelettish novelettist noveletty

Frequently Paired Words

short story novella novel

Synonyms

novella

Rhymes With

get let set yet working set met forget internet beat heat bet net

Questions

How do you pronounce novelette?: The recorded pronunciation is /nɒvəˈlɛt/.
What does novelette mean?: A short novel, synonymous with novella.
Where does novelette come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *nu Proto-Indo-European *néwos Proto-Italic *nowos Latin novus Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -ellus Latin novellus Vulgar Latin *novella Italian novellabor. English novel Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Latin -ittus Old French -ettebor. Middle English -ette English -ette English novelette From novel + -ette.

How to pronounce novelette

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “novelette”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/nɒvəˈlɛt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “novelette”.
Repeat and practice — Say “novelette” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.