observe
\ob.sɛʁv\
The verdict
“observe” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,257 in French word frequency and used as a verb.
- #4,257
- frequency rank, French
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de observer.
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) |
Where “observe” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for observe is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ob.sɛʁv\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,257 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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.
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
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “observe”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is O-B-S-E-R-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ob.sɛʁv\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “observer” - see the side-by-side comparison. observe vs observer
- 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.