hibou
^((h aspiré))\i.bu\
The verdict
“hibou” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #22,887 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #22,887
- frequency rank, French
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom ambigu désignant de façon générale tout rapace nocturne de l'ordre des strigiformes, caractérisé par de grands yeux frontaux entourés par un cercle de plumes, et qui porte notamment des aigrett...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hibou |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | ^((h aspiré))\i.bu\ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #22,887 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hibou” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for hibou is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as ^((h aspiré))\i.bu\. Corpus data places it at rank #22,887 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for hibou, with forms such as "hbiou", "hhibou", and "hibbou". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "hou", "hiro", "Hivon", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is hibou, spelled H-I-B-O-U.
Definition
- 1Nom ambigu désignant de façon générale tout rapace nocturne de l'ordre des strigiformes, caractérisé par de grands yeux frontaux entourés par un cercle de plumes, et qui porte notamment des aigrettes (faisceaux de plumes) sur la tête, caractéristique le distinguant principalement des chouettes, qui est également un substantif ambigu désignant plusieurs genres de rapaces nocturnes peu apparentés les uns aux autres.
- 2Nom normalisé désignant trois genres de rapaces nocturnes (Nesasio, Pseudoscops et Asio) comportant un total de neuf espèces, dont des espèces familières répandues dans l'Ancien Monde comme dans le Nouveau Monde telles le hibou des marais (Asio flammeus) et le hibou moyen-duc (Asio otus), caractérisées par la présence d'aigrettes de taille variable et une taille moyenne.
- 3Homme mélancolique et qui fuit la société.
- 4Homme qui, dans une compagnie, se tient à l’écart sans rien dire.
- 5Synonyme de fiancée (papillon Noctua pronuba).
- 6Meuble représentant l’animal du même nom dans les armoiries. Il est généralement positionné comme la chouette dont il se distingue par les oreilles. À rapprocher de chouette et hulotte.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hbiou,hhibou,hibbou,hibuo,hiobu,ihbou
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hibou - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "hibou"?
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Using “hibou”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is H-I-B-O-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as ^((h aspiré))\i.bu\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “hou” - see the side-by-side comparison. hibou vs hou
- 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.