Which to use
“obedece” and “obedecen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,161
- “obedece” frequency rank
- #25,375
- “obedecen” frequency rank
- 41536
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obedece | obedecen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obedecer. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obedecer. |
Where the eye mixes obedece and obedecen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. obedece runs 7 letters (VCVCVCV) against obedecen's 8 (VCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses obedece with obedecen
A purely visual mix-up. obedece ([oβ̞eˈð̞ese]) and obedecen ([oβ̞eˈð̞esẽn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “obedece” sits inside “obedecen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obedece is recorded at frequency rank #16,161, classified as averb, pronounced [oβ̞eˈð̞ese]. obedecen is at rank #25,375, tagged as averb, pronounced [oβ̞eˈð̞esẽn].
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 41536, this pair ranks #153,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obedece vs obedecen
Shared letters: bcdeo. Private to "obedece": -. Private to "obedecen": n.
"obedece" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "obedecen" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obedece" for "obedecen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "obedece" or "obedecen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "obedece" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obedecen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #153,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obedece" and "obedecen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obedecen vs obedeció". 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 #153,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.