voilà

/vwæˈlɑː/

//vwæˈlɑː// intj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"voila" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“voilà” is uncommon English (frequency #75,543 among 7,391 “V” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,543
frequency rank, English
7,391
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lo, there it is; ta-da; presto; behold!

Key facts for voilà
PropertyValue
Headwordvoilà
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/vwæˈlɑː/
Letters5
Frequency rank#75,543
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “voilà” sits in English 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). voilà lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

voilà is uncommon English at frequency #75,543 among 7,391 “V” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /vwæˈlɑː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Lo, there it is; ta-da; presto; behold!".

voilà has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French voilà. The correct English form is voilà, spelled V-O-I-L-À.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lo, there it is; ta-da; presto; behold!

Etymology

Borrowed from French voilà.

Synonyms

lo

This word in other languages

he aquí(Español)voilà(Français)voilà(Deutsch)eis(Português)

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "voilà"?
"voilà" is spelled V-O-I-L-À. The IPA pronunciation is /vwæˈlɑː/.
What does "voilà" mean?
As an interjection, "voilà" means: Lo, there it is; ta-da; presto; behold!
How do you pronounce "voilà"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "voilà" is /vwæˈlɑː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "voilà"?
Borrowed from French voilà. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 “voilà”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is V-O-I-L-À - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /vwæˈlɑː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list