obèses vs obsédés, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“obèses” is an adjective and “obsédés” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,064
“obèses” frequency rank: #30,284
“obsédés” frequency rank: 55348
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	obèses	obsédés
Definition	Pluriel de obèse.	Pluriel de obsédé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obèses and obsédés apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

obèses

7 ch

obsédés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obèses is \ɔ.bɛz\ while obsédés is \ɔb.se.de\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55348, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obèses is recorded at frequency rank #25,064, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɔ.bɛz\. obsédés is at rank #30,284, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔb.se.de\.

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 55348, this pair ranks #128,030 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obèses vs obsédés

Shared letters: bos. Private to "obèses": eè. Private to "obsédés": dé.

"obèses" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "obsédés" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

obèses#25,064

obsédés#30,284

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obèses" and "obsédés" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obèses" is an adjective and "obsédés" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "obèses" or "obsédés"?

"obèses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,064 in our French list, against #30,284 for "obsédés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obèses vs obsédés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “obèses”; for a noun, it's “obsédés”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obèses” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable