Which to use
“obéis” is a verb and “obtus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,893
- “obéis” frequency rank
- #38,455
- “obtus” frequency rank
- 79348
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obéis | obtus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de obéir. | Qui est arrondi, émoussé au lieu d’être anguleux ou pointu. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obéis and obtus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obéis is \ɔ.be.i\ while obtus is \ɔp.ty\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79348, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obéis is recorded at frequency rank #40,893, classified as averb, pronounced \ɔ.be.i\. obtus is at rank #38,455, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɔp.ty\.
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 79348, this pair ranks #23,522 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of obéis vs obtus
Shared letters: bos. Private to "obéis": ié. Private to "obtus": tu.
"obéis" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "obtus" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- obtus ← obbtus · obtsu · obttus · obtuss · otbus
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obéis" and "obtus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "obéis" or "obtus"?
Remembering obéis vs obtus
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “obéis”; for an adjective, it's “obtus”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obéis” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable