observation

\ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\

/\ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“observation” has 16 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #4,168. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,168
frequency rank, French
1,642
“O” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Action d’observer ce qui est prescrit par quelque loi ou ce que l’on a promis à quelqu’un.

Corpus desk

Index FR-observation · observation · French

observation · rank #4,168 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,168
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,642
  • PHOTO-FINISH noires

Nearest frequency peer: noires (-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 « observation »

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

corpus weight

What this shows « observation » 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).

observation vs observations
92% similar

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

Key facts for observation
PropertyValue
Headwordobservation
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\
Letters11
Frequency rank#4,168
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « observation »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).observationse 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 « noires » (#4,167), « ondes » (#4,169), « napoléon » (#4,166). Parmi 1,642 lemmes en « O », « observation » est au #4,168. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around observation (IPA \ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,168 among 1,642 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    Action d’observer ce qui est prescrit par quelque loi ou ce que l’on a promis à quelqu’un.
  2. 2
    Action de regarder avec attention, de surveiller.
  3. 3
    Ce que l'on aperçoit ainsi.
  4. 4
    Surveillance attentive à laquelle on soumet des personnes ou des animaux en vue d'établir un diagnostic.
  5. 5
    Action de considérer avec attention, avec étude les choses physiques ou morales.
  6. 6
    Résultat de ces études.
  7. 7
    Remarques sur des écrits de quelque auteur.
  8. 8
    Réflexion, considération.
  9. 9
    Remarque nuancée de reproche que l’on fait à quelqu’un sur sa manière d’agir, sur sa conduite.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. L’observation des lois de la République.
  2. L’observation de sa parole, de sa promesse.

This word in other languages

remark(English)avistamiento(Español)Bemerkung(Deutsch)nota(Português)

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.

boservation2obbservation1obesrvation2obseravtion2obserrvation1observaiton2observatino2observationn1
Edit distance from "observation"

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"?
"observation" is spelled O-B-S-E-R-V-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\.
What does "observation" mean?
As a noun, "observation" means: Action d’observer ce qui est prescrit par quelque loi ou ce que l’on a promis à quelqu’un.
What words are commonly confused with "observation"?
"observation" is commonly confused with "observations". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "observation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "observation" is \ɔp.sɛʁ.va.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "observation" come from?
"observation" 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 "observation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inspiration#4,158francophone#4,153emplacement#4,146énergétique#4,201

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

récompense16 variantsAlternative16 variantsBritanniques16 variantscatholiques16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list