nota bene

See also: notabene

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌnəʊtə ˈbɛneɪ/, /ˌnəʊtə ˈbɛni/
• IPA^(key): /ˌnoʊtə ˈbɛneɪ/, /ˌnoʊ.tə ˈbɛ.ni/, /ˌnoʊ.tə ˈbi.ni/, /ˌnoʊ.tə ˈbeɪ.ni/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Phrase

nota bene (plural notate bene)

1. (imperative) Take special note; used to add an aside or warning to a text.

Usage notes

• As with the Latin phrases id est and exempli gratia, nota bene is now more commonly encountered in its abbreviated forms n.b. or N.B.
• In Latin, notā is the singular present active imperative form of notō (“I mark”, “I note”, “I observe”), whose plural equivalent is notāte; consequently, in English, when addressing an audience of more than one person, the plural form notate bene is occasionally used instead of the singular. This practice is not necessary in English; nota bene is regarded as correct usage irrespective of number by all but the most pedantic language users. The abbreviation n.b. may stand for either.

Synonyms

• nota

Derived terms

• n.b. (abbreviation)
• N.B. (abbreviation)
• NB (abbreviation)

Noun

nota bene

1. (rare, informal) An instance of the phrase nota bene or its variant spellings. Also, by extension:
   1. Any indication similar in nature to nota bene.
   2. Something deserving of close attention or of careful notice.

Dutch

Etymology

From Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See the Latin section's etymology for further information.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˌnoː.taː ˈbeː.nə/

Phrase

nota bene

1. nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)

Derived terms

• NB (abbreviation)

French

Etymology

From Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See the Latin section’s etymology for further information..

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɔ.ta be.ne/

• Audio:

  (file)

Interjection

nota bene (nota béné)

1. nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)

Further reading

• “nota bene”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• bâtonnée

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See the Latin section’s etymology for further information..

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɔ.ta ˈbɛ.ne/
• Hyphenation: nò‧ta‧bè‧ne

Phrase

nota bene

1. nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)

Derived terms

• NB (abbreviation)

Latin

Etymology

notā, singular present active imperative form of notō (“I mark”, “I note”, “I observe”) + bene (“well”), adverbial form of bonus (“good”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈno.taː ˈbe.ne/, [ˈnɔt̪äː ˈbɛnɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈno.ta ˈbe.ne/, [ˈnɔːt̪ä ˈbɛːne]

Phrase

notā bene (plural notāte bene)

1. nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)

Derived terms

• NB (abbreviation)
• N.B. (abbreviation)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin notā bene.

Noun

nota bene n (uncountable)

1. nota bene

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	nota bene	nota beneul
genitive-dative	nota bene	nota beneului
vocative	nota beneule

Spanish

Etymology

From Classical Latin notā bene (“note well”). See that entry for more information.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌnota ˈbene/ [ˌno.t̪a ˈβ̞e.ne]
• Syllabification: no‧ta be‧ne

Phrase

nota bene

1. nota bene (used to add an aside or warning to a text)

Further reading

• “nota bene”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10