os

\ɔs\

/\ɔs\/ noun

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

The verdict

“os” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,632) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,632
frequency rank, French
1,642
“O” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Élément du squelette des animaux vertébrés, fait de ce tissu dur et calcifié.

Corpus desk

Index FR-os · os · French

os · rank #2,632 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,632
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,642
  • PHOTO-FINISH ordinateur

Nearest frequency peer: ordinateur (-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 “os”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “os” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

os vs ou
50% similar
os vs ow
50% similar
os vs ox
50% similar

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

Key facts for os
PropertyValue
Headwordos
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɔs\
Letters2
Frequency rank#2,632
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “os” se place dans la fréquence du français

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).osse place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « ordinateur » (#2,631), « outils » (#2,633), « maladies » (#2,630). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for os is neighbouring look-alikes ("ou", "ow", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced \ɔs\. Frequency #2,632 among 1,642 “O” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for os, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ou", "ow", "ox", 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 os, spelled O-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Élément du squelette des animaux vertébrés, fait de ce tissu dur et calcifié.
  2. 2
    Tissu conjonctif dur et minéralisé formant la structure des os des vertébrés, composé d’une matrice de collagène et de cristaux de phosphate de calcium (principalement sous forme d’hydroxyapatite).
  3. 3
    Problème, difficulté, obstacle ou imprévu.
  4. 4
    Instrument de musique composé d’os utilisés pour leurs propriétés acoustiques.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les os du métacarpe ont la structure des os longs en général, c'est-à-dire, que leur corps est compacte & que leurs extrémités sont celluleuses. Ils sont creusés par un canal médullaire prononcé.
  2. Le chien s’était mis à rôder dans les environs, fouillant avidement les tas d’ordures, sans doute pour y déterrer un os ou quelque régal de ce genre.

This word in other languages

bone(English)hueso(Español)Knochen(Deutsch)osso(Português)

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 "os"?
"os" is spelled O-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔs\.
What does "os" mean?
As a noun, "os" means: Élément du squelette des animaux vertébrés, fait de ce tissu dur et calcifié.
What words are commonly confused with "os"?
"os" is commonly confused with "ou", "ow", "ox". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "os"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "os" is \ɔs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "os" come from?
"os" 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.

What to do next

You've looked up "os". Here's where to go from here.

  • "os" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ou". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,632 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list