ouïe

\wi\

/\wi\/ noun

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

The verdict

“ouïe” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #20,804) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#20,804
frequency rank, French
75,470
“O” headwords
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sens par lequel on perçoit les sons, les autres sens sont la vue, l’odorat, le goût, le toucher ou encore la douleur.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ouie · ouïe · French

ouïe · rank #20,804 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,804
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 3 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 75,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH opérationnell…

Nearest frequency peer: opérationnelles (-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 “ouïe”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ouïe” 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 May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

ouïe vs out
50% similar
ouïe vs our
50% similar
ouïe vs oum
50% similar

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

Key facts for ouïe
PropertyValue
Headwordouïe
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\wi\
Letters4
Frequency rank#20,804
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ouïe” 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). ouïe lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ouïe is neighbouring look-alikes ("out", "our", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced \wi\. Frequency #20,804 among 75,470 “O” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for ouïe, with forms such as "oueï", "oïue", and "uoïe". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "out", "our", "oum", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is ouïe, spelled O-U-Ï-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sens par lequel on perçoit les sons, les autres sens sont la vue, l’odorat, le goût, le toucher ou encore la douleur.
  2. 2
    Action d'ouïr, d'entendre (seulement dans quelques locutions figées).
  3. 3
    Ouverture en forme d’oreille que les poissons ont de chaque côté de la tête et qui donne issue à l’eau qui est entrée dans leur bouche pour la respiration.
  4. 4
    Branchies ou organe en forme de peigne qui sont renfermés dans une ouïe et qui servent à la respiration.
  5. 5
    Ouverture pratiquée dans la table supérieure de certains instruments de musique, tels que le violon, la harpe, etc., et par laquelle sort le son.

Synonyms

branchie

This word in other languages

hearing(English)oído(Español)Gehör(Deutsch)audição(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oueï
  • oïue
  • uoïe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

oueï2oïue2uoïe2
Edit distance from "ouïe"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ouïe"?
"ouïe" is spelled O-U-Ï-E. The IPA pronunciation is \wi\.
What does "ouïe" mean?
As a noun, "ouïe" means: Sens par lequel on perçoit les sons, les autres sens sont la vue, l’odorat, le goût, le toucher ou encore la douleur.
What words are commonly confused with "ouïe"?
"ouïe" is commonly confused with "out", "our", "oum". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ouïe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ouïe" is \wi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ouïe" come from?
"ouïe" 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 "ouïe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

posa#20,819lead#20,773kant#20,770slow#20,855
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