Which to use
“obligée” and “obligés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,720
- “obligée” frequency rank
- #5,792
- “obligés” frequency rank
- 12512
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligée | obligés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de obligé. | Masculin pluriel de obligé. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obligée and obligés apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. obligée and obligés are pronounced identically (\ɔ.bli.ʒe\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by a single letter - e in “obligée” becomes s in “obligés”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12512, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obligée is recorded at frequency rank #6,720, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɔ.bli.ʒe\. obligés is at rank #5,792, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɔ.bli.ʒe\.
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 12512, this pair ranks #404,972 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obligée vs obligés
Shared letters: bgiloé. Private to "obligée": e. Private to "obligés": s.
"obligée" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV · "obligés" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obligée" and "obligés" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "obligée" or "obligés"?
Remembering obligée vs obligés
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 “obligée” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable