obvious

\ˈɑb.vi.əs\

/\ˈɑb.vi.əs\/ adj

The verdict

“obvious” is uncommon French (frequency #75,050 among 1,642 “O” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,050
frequency rank, French
1,642
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Évident, clair.

Corpus desk

Index FR-obvious · obvious · French

obvious · rank #75,050 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,050
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,642
  • PHOTO-FINISH objecteurs

Nearest frequency peer: objecteurs (-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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « obvious »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « obvious » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for obvious
PropertyValue
Headwordobvious
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ˈɑb.vi.əs\
Letters7
Frequency rank#75,050
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « obvious » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).obvioustombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « objecteurs » (#75,049), « odi » (#75,051), « numéroter » (#75,048). Parmi 1,642 lemmes en « O », « obvious » est au #75,050. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

obvious is uncommon French at frequency #75,050 among 1,642 “O” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˈɑb.vi.əs\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Évident, clair.".

Zero misspellings are on record for obvious in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is obvious, spelled O-B-V-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Évident, clair.

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 "obvious"?
"obvious" is spelled O-B-V-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈɑb.vi.əs\.
What does "obvious" mean?
As an adjective, "obvious" means: Évident, clair.
How do you pronounce "obvious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obvious" is \ˈɑb.vi.əs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "obvious" come from?
"obvious" 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 "obvious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list