obtenantvsobtenonsTell them apart

Which to use

“obtenant” and “obtenons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,923
“obtenant” frequency rank
#36,073
“obtenons” frequency rank
55996
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obtenant obtenons
Definition Participe présent de obtenir. Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de obtenir.

Where the eye mixes obtenant and obtenons

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. obtenant and obtenons follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
obtenant
8 ch
obtenons

Look-alike desk: obtenant vs obtenons

A purely visual mix-up. obtenant (\ɔp.tə.nɑ̃\) and obtenons (\ɔp.tə.nɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obtenant is recorded at frequency rank #19,923, classified as averb, pronounced \ɔp.tə.nɑ̃\. obtenons is at rank #36,073, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɔp.tə.nɔ̃\.

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 55996, this pair ranks #123,875 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obtenant vs obtenons

Shared letters: benot. Private to "obtenant": a. Private to "obtenons": s.

"obtenant" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC  ·  "obtenons" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obtenant ← botenant · obbtenant · obetnant · obteannt · obtenannt · obtenantt · obtenatn · obtennant
  • obtenons ← botenons · obbtenons · obetnons · obtennons · obtennos · obtenonns · obtenonss · obtenosn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "obtenant" for "obtenons" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ɔp.tə.nɑ̃\ versus \ɔp.tə.nɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "obtenant" vs "obtenons" - which ranks higher?
"obtenant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,923 in our French list, against #36,073 for "obtenons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "obtenant" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "obtenons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #123,875 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "obtenant" and "obtenons" 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 #123,875 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list