Which to use
“obs” is a verb and “Outs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,006
- “obs” frequency rank
- #45,496
- “Outs” frequency rank
- 63502
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obs | Outs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs obsen | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Out |
Where the eye mixes obs and Outs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: obs vs Outs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obs is [ɔps] while Outs is [aʊ̯t͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obs is recorded at frequency rank #18,006, classified as averb, pronounced [ɔps]. Outs is at rank #45,496, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aʊ̯t͡s].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 63502, this pair ranks #674,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obs vs Outs
Shared letters: os. Private to "obs": b. Private to "Outs": tu.
"obs" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "Outs" · 4 letters · shape VVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Outs ← otus · oust · outss · outts · uots
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "obs" and "Outs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "obs" or "Outs" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "obs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Outs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #674,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obs" and "Outs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ones vs Outs". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #674,541 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.