ouvrir la voie

\u.vʁiʁ la vwa\

/\u.vʁiʁ la vwa\/ verb

The verdict

“ouvrir la voie” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Être le premier, créer un précédent.

Key facts for ouvrir la voie
PropertyValue
Headwordouvrir la voie
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\u.vʁiʁ la vwa\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ouvrir la voie” sits in French frequency

ouvrir la voie falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for ouvrir la voie is 14 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \u.vʁiʁ la vwa\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ouvrir la voie, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, 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 ouvrir la voie, spelled O-U-V-R-I-R- -L-A- -V-O-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Être le premier, créer un précédent.
  2. 2
    Donner accès ; laisser le champ libre.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ouvrir la voie"?
"ouvrir la voie" is spelled O-U-V-R-I-R- -L-A- -V-O-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is \u.vʁiʁ la vwa\.
What does "ouvrir la voie" mean?
As a verb, "ouvrir la voie" means: Être le premier, créer un précédent.
How do you pronounce "ouvrir la voie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ouvrir la voie" is \u.vʁiʁ la vwa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ouvrir la voie" come from?
"ouvrir la voie" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “ouvrir la voie”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is O-U-V-R-I-R- -L-A- -V-O-I-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \u.vʁiʁ la vwa\ (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
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