Which to use
“obtenait” and “obtenir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,461
- “obtenait” frequency rank
- #906
- “obtenir” frequency rank
- 30367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obtenait | obtenir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de obtenir. | Se faire accorder par tel ou tel moyen une chose que l’on désire. |
Where the eye mixes obtenait and obtenir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. obtenait runs 8 letters (VCCVCVVC) against obtenir's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between obtenait and obtenir
A purely visual mix-up. obtenait (\ɔp.tə.nɛ\) and obtenir (\ɔp.tə.niʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obtenait is recorded at frequency rank #29,461, classified as averb, pronounced \ɔp.tə.nɛ\. obtenir is at rank #906, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɔp.tə.niʁ\.
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 30367, this pair ranks #310,806 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obtenait vs obtenir
Shared letters: beinot. Private to "obtenait": a. Private to "obtenir": r.
"obtenait" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC · "obtenir" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obtenait" and "obtenir" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "obtenait" vs "obtenir" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "obtenait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obtenir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,806 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obtenait" and "obtenir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obtenait vs obtenant". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #310,806 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.