obesavsobreraWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: obesa is a adjective, obrera is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“obesa” is an adjective and “obrera” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,478
“obesa” frequency rank
#9,164
“obrera” frequency rank
54642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obesa obrera
Definition Forma del femenino singular de obeso. Hembra estéril en numerosas especies de insectos eusociales, que desempeña tareas de recolección, defensa y construcción.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obesa and obrera apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
obesa
6 ch
obrera

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obesa is [oˈβ̞esa] while obrera is [oˈβ̞ɾeɾa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obesa is recorded at frequency rank #45,478, classified as anadj, pronounced [oˈβ̞esa]. obrera is at rank #9,164, tagged as anoun, pronounced [oˈβ̞ɾeɾa].

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 54642, this pair ranks #82,408 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of obesa vs obrera

Shared letters: abeo. Private to "obesa": s. Private to "obrera": r.

"obesa" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "obrera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obesaboesa · obbesa · obeas · obessa · obsea · oebsa · ovesa
  • obreraborera · obbrera · oberra · obrear · obrerra · obrrea · obrrera · orbera

Frequency comparison

obesa#45,478
obrera#9,164

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obesa" and "obrera" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obesa" is an adjective and "obrera" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "obesa" or "obrera"?
"obrera" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,164 in our Spanish list, against #45,478 for "obesa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obesa vs obrera

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “obesa”; for a noun, it's “obrera”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obesa” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list