Which to use
“obey” is a verb and “ode” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,219
- “obey” frequency rank
- #19,402
- “ode” frequency rank
- 28621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obey | ode |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of. | A short poetical composition proper to be set to music or sung; a lyric poem; especially, now, a poem characterized by sustained noble sentiment and appropriate dignity of style. |
Where the eye mixes obey and ode
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obey is /əʊˈbeɪ/ while ode is /oʊd/. 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 28621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obey is recorded at frequency rank #9,219, classified as averb, pronounced /əʊˈbeɪ/. ode is at rank #19,402, tagged as anoun, pronounced /oʊd/.
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 28621, this pair ranks #369,631 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obey vs ode
Shared letters: eo. Private to "obey": by. Private to "ode": d.
"obey" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "ode" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- obey ← boey · obbey · obeyy · obye · oeby