observe
\ob.sɛʁv\
The verdict
“observe” has 10 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #4,257. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #4,257
- frequency rank, French
- 1,642
- “O” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de observer.
Corpus desk
Index FR-observe · observe · French
observe · rank #4,257 · 10 variants · 9 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #4,257
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,642
- PHOTO-FINISH occident
Nearest frequency peer: occident (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “observe”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- navigation
navigation
95,747 corpus weight
- norme
norme
95,746 corpus weight
- observe
observe
95,744 corpus weight
- occident
occident
95,743 corpus weight
- onu
onu
95,742 corpus weight
- opportunité
opportunité
95,741 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “observe” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | observe |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \ob.sɛʁv\ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #4,257 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Où “observe” se place dans la fréquence du français
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around observe (IPA \ob.sɛʁv\), averb. Corpus frequency is #4,257 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 observe, with forms such as "boserve", "obbserve", and "obesrve". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "observer", "observée", "observés", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
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 observe, spelled O-B-S-E-R-V-E.
Definition
- 1Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de observer.
- 2Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de observer.
- 3Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de observer.
- 4Troisième personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de observer.
- 5Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de observer.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how observe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
J’observe que le religieux confond indistinctement le sacré, le divin et le religieux.
Vue de loin, la nature semble harmonieuse. Vue de près, on y observe que les plantes cherchent à s’étouffer les unes les autres et que les animaux utilisent la prédation et le parasitisme.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- boserve
- obbserve
- obesrve
- obserev
- obserrve
- observve
- obsevre
- obsreve
- obsserve
- osberve
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of observe - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "observe"?
What does "observe" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "observe"?
How do you pronounce "observe"?
What language does "observe" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar French words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "observe", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "observe". Here's where to go from here.
- "observe" maps to 9 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "observer". View pair
- 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #4,257 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more French words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.