obliger

\ɔ.bli.ʒe\

/\ɔ.bli.ʒe\/ verb

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

The verdict

“obliger” has 10 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #6,857. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,857
frequency rank, French
1,642
“O” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mettre quelqu’un dans l’obligation de faire ou de dire quelque chose.

Corpus desk

Index FR-obliger · obliger · French

obliger · rank #6,857 · 10 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,857
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,642
  • PHOTO-FINISH obstacle

Nearest frequency peer: obstacle (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « obliger »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « obliger » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

obliger vs Oliver
57% similar
obliger vs oublier
71% similar
obliger vs obligés
71% similar

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

Key facts for obliger
PropertyValue
Headwordobliger
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ɔ.bli.ʒe\
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,857
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « obliger »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).obligerse place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « obstacle » (#6,858), « méchants » (#6,855), « Oise » (#6,859). Parmi 1,642 lemmes en « O », « obliger » est au #6,857. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around obliger (IPA \ɔ.bli.ʒe\), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,857 among 1,642 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for obliger, with forms such as "boliger", "obbliger", and "obilger". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "Oliver", "oublier", "obligés", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is obliger, spelled O-B-L-I-G-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mettre quelqu’un dans l’obligation de faire ou de dire quelque chose.
  2. 2
    Lier quelqu’un par un contrat, par une promesse, contraindre à exécuter la chose à laquelle on s’est engagé.
  3. 3
    Hypothéquer ou cautionner.
  4. 4
    Contraindre, forcer ou mettre dans la nécessité de faire quelque chose.
  5. 5
    Attacher quelqu’un par un service, faire plaisir.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how obliger appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Les défenseurs, après avoir perdu les faubourgs, manquant d’eau, furent obligés de capituler.
  2. – Je suis citoyen britannique ! – continua Bert, obstiné. – Vous n’êtes pas obligés d’écouter, mais rien ne me force à me taire.

Synonyms

assujettirastreindrecontraindreengagerexigerforcerforcer la mainlier

Antonyms

désobliger

This word in other languages

oblige(English)obligar(Español)zwingen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • boliger
  • obbliger
  • obilger
  • oblgier
  • obliegr
  • obligerr
  • obligger
  • obligre
  • oblliger
  • olbiger

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obliger - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

boliger2obbliger1obilger2oblgier2obliegr2obligerr1obligger1obligre2
Edit distance from "obliger"

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 "obliger"?
"obliger" is spelled O-B-L-I-G-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔ.bli.ʒe\.
What does "obliger" mean?
As a verb, "obliger" means: Mettre quelqu’un dans l’obligation de faire ou de dire quelque chose.
What words are commonly confused with "obliger"?
"obliger" is commonly confused with "Oliver", "oublier", "obligés". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "obliger"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obliger" is \ɔ.bli.ʒe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "obliger" come from?
"obliger" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "obliger", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

profits#6,873invitée#6,838glisser#6,832ressent#6,884

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

flèche10 variantssphère10 variantsstudios10 variantsséduire10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list