obéir

/\ɔ.be.iʁ\/ verb

Letters

5 characters

Frequency Rank

#10,367

in French word usage

Misspellings

7

tracked variants

Confusables

9

similar word pairs

obéir is aFrenchverb. It means: Se soumettre à une demande, une règle ou une obligation d’une personne ; exécuter un ordre donné. Pronounced \ɔ.be.iʁ\. Often confused with Obi and oeil.

Key facts for obéir
PropertyValue
Headwordobéir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ɔ.be.iʁ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,367
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of obéir in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for obéir is 5 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɔ.be.iʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #10,367 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for obéir, with forms such as "boéir", "obbéir", and "obeir". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "Obi", "oeil", "oser", 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 spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is obéir, spelled O-B-É-I-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Se soumettre à une demande, une règle ou une obligation d’une personne ; exécuter un ordre donné.
  2. 2
    Céder à.
  3. 3
    Être soumis à ; subir l’action de, en parlant des choses.
  4. 4
    Répondre à la sollicitation.
  5. 5
    Être soumis à l’autorité d’un prince, d’un empire.
  6. 6
    Prendre la direction donnée, en parlant de navires, de véhicules.
  7. 7
    Se laisser gouverner, manier aisément, en parlant d’un animal.
  8. 8
    Obéir à soi-même.
  9. 9
    Être écouté par quelqu’un qui répond à la demande formulée.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: boéir,obbéir,obeir,obiér,obéirr,obéri,oébir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for obéir

Misspelling Variants of "obéir"

boéir5obbéir6obeir5obiér5obéirr6obéri5oébir5
Misspelling Variants of "obéir"

Frequency rank: #10,367 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "obéir"?
"obéir" is spelled O-B-É-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔ.be.iʁ\.
What does "obéir" mean?
As a verb, "obéir" means: Se soumettre à une demande, une règle ou une obligation d’une personne ; exécuter un ordre donné.
What words are commonly confused with "obéir"?
"obéir" is commonly confused with "Obi", "oeil", "oser". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "obéir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obéir" is \ɔ.be.iʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "obéir" come from?
"obéir" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter O in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.