Which to use
“obs” is a verb and “oy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,851
- “obs” frequency rank
- #41,948
- “oy” frequency rank
- 55799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obs | oy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de obsen. | Prime. |
Where the eye mixes obs and oy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between obs and oy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obs is \ɔps\ while oy is \ɔj\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55799, 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\. oy is at rank #41,948, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔj\.
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 55799, this pair ranks #125,169 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obs vs oy
Shared letters: o. Private to "obs": bs. Private to "oy": y.
"obs" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "oy" · 2 letters · shape VV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obs" for "oy" ever safe?
Which is more common, "obs" or "oy"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "obs" and "oy" 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 "oy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #125,169 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obs" and "oy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "och vs oy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #125,169 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.