Which to use
“obedecen” and “obedeció” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,375
- “obedecen” frequency rank
- #46,092
- “obedeció” frequency rank
- 71467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obedecen | obedeció |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obedecer. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de obedecer. |
Where the eye mixes obedecen and obedeció
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. obedecen (VCVCVCVC) and obedeció (VCVCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses obedecen with obedeció
A purely visual mix-up. obedecen ([oβ̞eˈð̞esẽn]) and obedeció ([oβ̞eð̞eˈsjo]) 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 71467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obedecen is recorded at frequency rank #25,375, classified as averb, pronounced [oβ̞eˈð̞esẽn]. obedeció is at rank #46,092, tagged as averb, pronounced [oβ̞eð̞eˈsjo].
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 71467, this pair ranks #27,454 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of obedecen vs obedeció
Shared letters: bcdeo. Private to "obedecen": n. Private to "obedeció": ió.
"obedecen" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC · "obedeció" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- obedecen ← boedecen · obbedecen · obdeecen · obedceen · obeddecen · obedeccen · obedecenn · obedecne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obedecen" and "obedeció" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "obedecen" or "obedeció" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "obedecen" and "obedeció" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obedecen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obedeció" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,454 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obedecen" and "obedeció" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obedece 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 #27,454 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.