obtienevsobtienenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“obtiene” and “obtienen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,235
“obtiene” frequency rank
#8,558
“obtienen” frequency rank
13793
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obtiene obtienen
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obtener. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obtener.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obtiene and obtienen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
obtiene
8 ch
obtienen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. obtiene ([oβ̞ˈt̪jene]) and obtienen ([oβ̞ˈt̪jenẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “obtiene” sits inside “obtienen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obtiene is recorded at frequency rank #5,235, classified as averb, pronounced [oβ̞ˈt̪jene]. obtienen is at rank #8,558, tagged as averb, pronounced [oβ̞ˈt̪jenẽn].

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 13793, this pair ranks #286,537 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of obtiene vs obtienen

Shared letters: beinot. Private to "obtiene": -. Private to "obtienen": -.

"obtiene" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "obtienen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obtienebotiene · obbtiene · obitene · obteine · obtieen · obtienne · obtinee · obttiene
  • obtienenbotienen · obbtienen · obitenen · obteinen · obtieenn · obtienenn · obtiennen · obtineen

Frequency comparison

obtiene#5,235
obtienen#8,558

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obtiene" and "obtienen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([oβ̞ˈt̪jene] versus [oβ̞ˈt̪jenẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "obtiene" or "obtienen"?
"obtiene" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,235 in our Spanish list, against #8,558 for "obtienen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obtiene vs obtienen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obtiene” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list