eau

\o\

/\o\/ noun

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

The verdict

“eau” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #287 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#287
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Liquide transparent, incolore, inodore et insipide à l’état pur, qui est le principal constituant des lacs, rivières, mers et océans.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

eau vs et
33% similar
eau vs en
33% similar
eau vs Eu
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for eau
PropertyValue
Headwordeau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\o\
Letters3
Frequency rank#287
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “eau” sits in French 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). eau lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for eau is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \o\. Corpus data places it at rank #287 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for eau, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "et", "en", "Eu", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is eau, spelled E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Liquide transparent, incolore, inodore et insipide à l’état pur, qui est le principal constituant des lacs, rivières, mers et océans.
  2. 2
    Pluie.
  3. 3
    Corps composé de formule brute H₂O existant surtout sous forme de glace, d’eau liquide ou de vapeur, mais aussi d’eau de constitution.
  4. 4
    Quantités ou étendues liquides naturelles.
  5. 5
    Zone maritime considérée comme un territoire appartenant à tel ou tel pays que baigne cette mer.
  6. 6
    Sillage, houaiche.
  7. 7
    Fluides, sérosités qui se trouvent ou qui se forment dans le corps de l’être humain ou de l’animal.
  8. 8
    Fluides, sérosités qui se trouvent ou qui se forment dans le corps de l’être humain ou de l’animal.
  9. 9
    Fluides, sérosités qui se trouvent ou qui se forment dans le corps de l’être humain ou de l’animal.
  10. 10
    Fluides, sérosités qui se trouvent ou qui se forment dans le corps de l’être humain ou de l’animal.
  11. 11
    Sources qui, en passant dans l’intérieur de la terre au travers des minéraux, ont contracté quelque vertu médicinale, et dont on fait usage, soit en s’y baignant, soit en les prenant comme boisson. Lieu où l’on va prendre ces eaux.
  12. 12
    Liquide artificiel extrait d’une substance par distillation, décoction, ou expression, ou composé de différentes substances.
  13. 13
    Flux ; flot ; courant.
  14. 14
    Désigne des couleurs, en particulier un vert pâle et doux. #B0F2B6 .
  15. 15
    Lustre, brillant qu’ont les perles, les diamants et quelques autres pierreries.
  16. 16
    Élément primordial de l’univers, dans certaines cosmogonies.

Synonyms

agouachâteau la pompeflottejus de parapluiesirop d’ablettesirop de parapluieflottebailleondeacide hydroxyqueacide oxhydriquehydrogénolhydroxyde d’hydrogènehydroxyde d’oxoniummonoxyde de dihydrogèneoxyde d’hydrogène

This word in other languages

water(English)agua(Español)Wasser(Deutsch)água(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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "eau"?
"eau" is spelled E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \o\.
What does "eau" mean?
As a noun, "eau" means: Liquide transparent, incolore, inodore et insipide à l’état pur, qui est le principal constituant des lacs, rivières, mers et océans.
What words are commonly confused with "eau"?
"eau" is commonly confused with "et", "en", "Eu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "eau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "eau" is \o\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "eau" come from?
"eau" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “eau”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is E-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \o\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “et” - see the side-by-side comparison. eau vs et
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list