observation
\ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\
The verdict
“observation” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,168 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,168
- frequency rank, French
- 11
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action d’observer ce qui est prescrit par quelque loi ou ce que l’on a promis à quelqu’un.
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 | observation |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #4,168 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “observation” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for observation is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,168 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for observation, with forms such as "boservation", "obbservation", and "obesrvation". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "observations", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is observation, spelled O-B-S-E-R-V-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Action d’observer ce qui est prescrit par quelque loi ou ce que l’on a promis à quelqu’un.
- 2Action de regarder avec attention, de surveiller.
- 3Ce que l'on aperçoit ainsi.
- 4Surveillance attentive à laquelle on soumet des personnes ou des animaux en vue d'établir un diagnostic.
- 5Action de considérer avec attention, avec étude les choses physiques ou morales.
- 6Résultat de ces études.
- 7Remarques sur des écrits de quelque auteur.
- 8Réflexion, considération.
- 9Remarque nuancée de reproche que l’on fait à quelqu’un sur sa manière d’agir, sur sa conduite.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: boservation,obbservation,obesrvation,obseravtion,obserrvation,observaiton,observatino,observationn,observatoin,observattion,observtaion,observvation,obsevration,obsrevation,obsservation,osbervation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of observation - 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.
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 "observation"?
What does "observation" mean?
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Using “observation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is O-B-S-E-R-V-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “observations” - see the side-by-side comparison. observation vs observations
- 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.