Which to use
“obs” is a verb and “off” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,851
- “obs” frequency rank
- #5,054
- “off” frequency rank
- 18905
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obs | off |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de obsen. | Hors antenne ; non diffusé. |
Where the eye mixes obs and off
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses obs with off
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obs is \ɔps\ while off is \ɔf\. 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 18905, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obs is recorded at frequency rank #13,851, classified as averb, pronounced \ɔps\. off is at rank #5,054, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɔf\.
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 18905, this pair ranks #376,007 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obs vs off
Shared letters: o. Private to "obs": bs. Private to "off": f.
"obs" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "off" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obs" for "off" ever safe?
Which is more common, "obs" or "off"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "obs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "off" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #376,007 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obs" and "off" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obs vs och". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #376,007 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.