Which to use
“obtenir” and “obtenu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #906
- “obtenir” frequency rank
- #1,828
- “obtenu” frequency rank
- 2734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obtenir | obtenu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se faire accorder par tel ou tel moyen une chose que l’on désire. | Participe passé masculin singulier de obtenir. |
Where the eye mixes obtenir and obtenu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. obtenir runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against obtenu's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses obtenir with obtenu
A purely visual mix-up. obtenir (\ɔp.tə.niʁ\) and obtenu (\ɔp.tə.ny\) 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 2734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obtenir is recorded at frequency rank #906, classified as averb, pronounced \ɔp.tə.niʁ\. obtenu is at rank #1,828, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɔp.tə.ny\.
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 2734, this pair ranks #435,579 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obtenir vs obtenu
Shared letters: benot. Private to "obtenir": ir. Private to "obtenu": u.
"obtenir" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "obtenu" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "obtenir" and "obtenu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "obtenir" or "obtenu"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "obtenir" and "obtenu" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obtenir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obtenu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #435,579 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obtenir" and "obtenu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obtenu vs optent". 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 #435,579 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.