oui

\wi\

/\wi\/ adv

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

The verdict

“oui” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #132 in French word frequency and used as an adverb.

#132
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mot utilisé pour apporter une réponse affirmative ou marquer l'accord sur une proposition. Il s’emploie aussi au début d’une phrase qui ne répond pas à une question exprimée ou au cours d’une phras...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

oui vs ow
33% similar
oui vs ox
33% similar
oui vs oy
33% similar

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

Key facts for oui
PropertyValue
Headwordoui
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\wi\
Letters3
Frequency rank#132
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “oui” 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). oui lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for oui is 3 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \wi\. Corpus data places it at rank #132 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for oui in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ow", "ox", "oy", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

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 oui, spelled O-U-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mot utilisé pour apporter une réponse affirmative ou marquer l'accord sur une proposition. Il s’emploie aussi au début d’une phrase qui ne répond pas à une question exprimée ou au cours d’une phrase, pour marquer ou accentuer le caractère affirmatif de cette phrase. Il s’emploie dans le discours direct en réponse à une interrogation. Il est alors seul ou joint à des adverbes qui renforcent l’affirmation comme certes, vraiment, etc.
  2. 2
    Comme marqueur de question-tag pour signifier l'agacement ou l'impatience.
  3. 3
    Pour indiquer que l'on écoute ou que l'on comprend ce qui est dit, sans forcément l'approuver.
  4. 4
    Question courte signifiant "Que désirez-vous ?".
  5. 5
    C’est vrai. C’est ça.

Synonyms

absolumentaffirmatifc’est çac’est clairc’est pas fauxcarrémentcertainementcertescomment doncet comment donccomplètementd’accordj’avoueouattotalementtout à faityeahyesyes sir

This word in other languages

yes(English)sí(Español)ja(Deutsch)sim(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 "oui"?
"oui" is spelled O-U-I. The IPA pronunciation is \wi\.
What does "oui" mean?
As an adverb, "oui" means: Mot utilisé pour apporter une réponse affirmative ou marquer l'accord sur une proposition. Il s’emploie aussi au début d’une phrase qui ne répond pas à une question exprimée ou au cours d’une phras...
What words are commonly confused with "oui"?
"oui" is commonly confused with "ow", "ox", "oy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "oui"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "oui" is \wi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "oui" come from?
"oui" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “oui”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is O-U-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \wi\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “ow” - see the side-by-side comparison. oui vs ow
  • 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.

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

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