Which to use
“obtenir” and “obtenue” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #906
- “obtenir” frequency rank
- #8,744
- “obtenue” frequency rank
- 9650
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obtenir | obtenue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se faire accorder par tel ou tel moyen une chose que l’on désire. | Participe passé féminin singulier de obtenir. |
Where the eye mixes obtenir and obtenue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. obtenir (VCCVCVC) and obtenue (VCCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between obtenir and obtenue
A purely visual mix-up. obtenir (\ɔp.tə.niʁ\) and obtenue (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9650, 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\. obtenue is at rank #8,744, 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 9650, this pair ranks #415,915 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obtenir vs obtenue
Shared letters: benot. Private to "obtenir": ir. Private to "obtenue": u.
"obtenir" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "obtenue" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obtenir" for "obtenue" ever safe?
Frequency check: "obtenir" vs "obtenue" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "obtenir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obtenue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,915 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obtenir" and "obtenue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obtenue vs obtienne". 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 #415,915 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.