oni

\ɔ.ni\

/\ɔ.ni\/ noun

The verdict

“oni” is uncommon French (frequency #55,481 among 75,470 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,481
frequency rank, French
75,470
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Créature légendaire humanoïde dotée de cornes, d’un pagne en peau de tigre et d’une massue en métal. Présente dans les croyances religieuses et populaires où il est associé à un mauvais esprit comm...

Key facts for oni
PropertyValue
Headwordoni
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɔ.ni\
Letters3
Frequency rank#55,481
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “oni” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). oni lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

oni is uncommon French at frequency #55,481 among 75,470 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɔ.ni\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Créature légendaire humanoïde dotée de cornes, d’un pagne en peau de tigre et d’une massue en métal. Présente dans les croyances religieuses et populaires où il est associé à un mauvais esprit comm...".

Zero misspellings are on record for oni in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is oni, spelled O-N-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Créature légendaire humanoïde dotée de cornes, d’un pagne en peau de tigre et d’une massue en métal. Présente dans les croyances religieuses et populaires où il est associé à un mauvais esprit comme un démon, ou bien dans les contes et légendes où il est associé à une figure monstrueuse comme un ogre ou une sorcière.

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 "oni"?
"oni" is spelled O-N-I. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔ.ni\.
What does "oni" mean?
As a noun, "oni" means: Créature légendaire humanoïde dotée de cornes, d’un pagne en peau de tigre et d’une massue en métal. Présente dans les croyances religieuses et populaires où il est associé à un mauvais esprit comm...
How do you pronounce "oni"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "oni" is \ɔ.ni\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "oni" come from?
"oni" 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.

Using “oni”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is O-N-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɔ.ni\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list