Babybelletje is not a standard English word, and we could not confirm it as a dictionary entry in Dutch. It looks like a Dutch-style diminutive of Babybel, the French cheese brand. It also happens to resemble baby + belletje, which would mean “baby little bell.” Some websites use it for a bell and others for a cheese, but neither meaning is supported by a reliable source. If you mean the cheese, write Babybel.
A few years ago I took a freelance job writing product descriptions for a snack brand. I spotted “babybelletje” on a few websites, assumed it was a proper Dutch term, and put it in a headline. My editor replied within ten minutes: “Where did you get this word?” I had no answer. I’d trusted three sites that, I later realised, were all copying each other. I spent that evening with an actual Dutch dictionary, feeling about two inches tall. Now, before a word goes into anything I publish, I check it in one source I can name. Popular isn’t the same as correct.
Taking the word apart
The word can be read in two ways, and both are worth knowing.
Reading 1: Babybel + a Dutch diminutive
Dutch forms small or affectionate versions of nouns by adding -je and its variants. Following the regular rule, the diminutive of bel is belletje. The same rule applied to Babybel gives babybelletje, “a little Babybel.” So the word is spelled correctly for a Dutch diminutive. Being well-formed does not make it a dictionary word, though.
Reading 2: baby + belletje
Belletje is a real Dutch word. It means “little bell” and, in informal speech, “a quick phone call” (even een belletje doen). It also appears in the phrase belletje trekken, which means ringing a doorbell and running away. Dutch also uses baby as a loanword, so “baby” + “belletje” is a possible reading.
The coincidence is worth noting: Babybel does not appear to be named after a bell. As far as we can tell, the name joins baby with the Bel Group, the company behind the cheese. The Dutch word bel is a look-alike.
Why online sources disagree
Search results for this word are inconsistent. One page describes it as a small decorative bell with a centuries-long history. Others describe it as a wax-wrapped round cheese. One of them adds that it came from a small family-run Dutch cheese company in the early twentieth century.
| Claim you may see | What checks out |
| It is an antique or decorative bell | We found no dictionary or historical source establishing “babybelletje” as a type of bell. |
| It is a cheese from a Dutch family firm | The Bel Group introduced Babybel in 1952, and Mini Babybel launched in France in 1977. It is described as a French-origin cheese. |
| It has a red wax coating like Dutch cheese | Partly true. The brand’s red wax skin traces back to Dutch Edam, but the cheese itself is French. |
Dutch supermarket listings are also telling. One major retailer sells the product as “Babybel” and describes the pieces as “kaasjes” (little cheeses), with a French supplier named Bel. The listings we saw did not use “babybelletje.”
Babybel, belletje, babybelletje: which do you need?
| Word | Language | Meaning | Status |
| Babybel | Brand name (French company) | The mini cheeses in wax | Established, always capitalized |
| belletje | Dutch | Little bell; informal phone call | Real Dutch word |
| babybelletje | Dutch-style coinage | Unclear: “a little Babybel” or “baby little bell” | Not confirmed as a dictionary word |
How the Dutch “-je” diminutive works
Dutch chooses the suffix based on how the noun ends. The rules below are simplified, so use them as a guide rather than a complete rulebook is koriandri a real English word.
| Noun ends in | Suffix | Example |
| Most consonants (b, d, f, g, k, p, s, t) | -je | boek → boekje, huis → huisje, hond → hondje |
| A long vowel or diphthong + l, n, r | -tje | stoel → stoeltje, deur → deurtje |
| A long vowel or diphthong + m | -pje | boom → boompje, bloem → bloempje |
| A short vowel + l, n, r, m | -etje, with the consonant doubled | bel → belletje, man → mannetje, kam → kammetje |
| -ng after an unstressed syllable | -kje | koning → koninkje |
Two common spelling mistakes follow from these rules. Belje is wrong because a short-vowel word like bel needs the doubled consonant and -etje. Beletje is also wrong because the l must be doubled.
Be careful with look-alikes. The Dutch word kattebelletje means a short note. A 1946 article from the language magazine Onze Taal links it to an Italian word. Not every word that ends in -belletje has anything to do with a bell.
If you’re writing about the cheese
- Capitalize the brand. Write Babybel, or Mini Babybel for the full product name.
- Choose a plural. Babybels is common and easy to understand in informal English. Babybel cheeses is safer in formal writing.
- Use a generic description when you don’t mean the brand, such as individually wrapped wax-coated cheeses.
Should you use “babybelletje” in your own writing?
- You mean the cheese: write Babybel.
- You mean a little bell: write “little bell” in English, or belletje in Dutch.
- You are quoting a source that uses it: keep the spelling as written and put it in quotation marks.
- You are writing informal Dutch: babybelletje follows the diminutive rules, but don’t present it as a dictionary word.
You can check any Dutch word yourself. The Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal (woordenlijst.org) is the official spelling list, and Van Dale and Wiktionary give meanings. If a word isn’t listed in these, treat online claims about its meaning with caution.
About the author
Faizan Babar is the owner and main writer of ZyluxMag, an English grammar and vocabulary blog. Faizan writes clear, people-first guides on grammar rules, word choice, and common mistakes, and checks unfamiliar words against dictionaries and official word lists before publishing.
