observer

\ɔp.sɛʁ.ve\

/\ɔp.sɛʁ.ve\/ verb

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

The verdict

“observer” has 12 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #3,947. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,947
frequency rank, French
1,642
“O” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Accomplir, suivre ce qui est prescrit par une loi, par une règle.

Corpus desk

Index FR-observer · observer · French

observer · rank #3,947 · 12 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,947
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,642
  • PHOTO-FINISH nomination

Nearest frequency peer: nomination (-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 « observer »

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

corpus weight

What this shows « observer » 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).

observer vs observés
75% similar
observer vs observez
88% similar
observer vs observe
88% similar

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

Key facts for observer
PropertyValue
Headwordobserver
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ɔp.sɛʁ.ve\
Letters8
Frequency rank#3,947
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « observer »

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

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « nomination » (#3,946), « occupation » (#3,948), « navires » (#3,945). Parmi 1,642 lemmes en « O », « observer » est au #3,947. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around observer (IPA \ɔp.sɛʁ.ve\), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,947 among 1,642 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for observer, with forms such as "boserver", "obbserver", and "obesrver". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "observés", "observez", "observe", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is observer, spelled O-B-S-E-R-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Accomplir, suivre ce qui est prescrit par une loi, par une règle.
  2. 2
    (En construction indirecte, désuet) Prendre soin de, veiller à, de manière à respecter une règle.
  3. 3
    Regarder avec attention ; surveiller ; épier.
  4. 4
    Considérer avec application, en vue d’une étude, les choses physiques ou morales.
  5. 5
    Remarquer, en parlant de ce qui attire l’attention.
  6. 6
    Faire remarquer.
  7. 7
    Se surveiller, être fort circonspect dans ses actions, dans ses paroles.
  8. 8
    (réciproque) Se surveiller l’un l’autre.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Pour atteindre ce but tous les moyens ne sont pas indifférents ; il y a des lois à observer et une marche rationnelle à suivre.
  2. Le voisin, en acquérant par la suite la mitoyenneté de ce mur, ne pourrait pas faire boucher les vues sous prétexte que la distance n’est pas observée ; […].

Synonyms

suivre

This word in other languages

observe(English)observar(Español)beobachten(Deutsch)observar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • boserver
  • obbserver
  • obesrver
  • obserevr
  • obserrver
  • observerr
  • observre
  • observver
  • obsevrer
  • obsrever
  • obsserver
  • osberver

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of observer - 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.

boserver2obbserver1obesrver2obserevr2obserrver1observerr1observre2observver1
Edit distance from "observer"

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 "observer"?
"observer" is spelled O-B-S-E-R-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔp.sɛʁ.ve\.
What does "observer" mean?
As a verb, "observer" means: Accomplir, suivre ce qui est prescrit par une loi, par une règle.
What words are commonly confused with "observer"?
"observer" is commonly confused with "observés", "observez", "observe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "observer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "observer" is \ɔp.sɛʁ.ve\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "observer" come from?
"observer" 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 "observer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

laissent#3,934épreuves#3,972financer#3,918argument#3,983

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

occupation12 variantsmentionné12 variantsvoulaient12 variantscardinal12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list