Which to use
“obs” is a verb and “on” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,851
- “obs” frequency rank
- #29
- “on” frequency rank
- 13880
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obs | on |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de obsen. | Pronom de la troisième personne du singulier. — Note d’usage : S’utilise pour désigner une ou des personnes indéfinies, en remplacement d’une forme passive. |
Where the eye mixes obs and on
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between obs and on
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obs is \ɔps\ while on is \ɔ̃\. 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 (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13880, 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\. on is at rank #29, tagged as apron, pronounced \ɔ̃\.
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 13880, this pair ranks #399,155 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obs vs on
Shared letters: o. Private to "obs": bs. Private to "on": n.
"obs" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "on" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obs" and "on" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "obs" vs "on" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "obs" and "on" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "on" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,155 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obs" and "on" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obs vs och". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #399,155 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.