Which to use
“obliga” and “obligar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,444
- “obliga” frequency rank
- #9,002
- “obligar” frequency rank
- 13446
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obliga | obligar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. | Atar, ligar, precisar, mover eficazmente a alguna cosa, aunque sea repugnante al gusto y genio del que la ha de ejecutar. |
Where the eye mixes obliga and obligar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses obliga with obligar
A purely visual mix-up. obliga ([oˈβ̞liɣ̞a]) and obligar ([oβ̞liˈɣ̞aɾ]) 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) - “obliga” sits inside “obligar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obliga is recorded at frequency rank #4,444, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈβ̞liɣ̞a]. obligar is at rank #9,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aɾ].
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 13446, this pair ranks #287,842 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obliga vs obligar
Shared letters: abgilo. Private to "obliga": -. Private to "obligar": r.
"obliga" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "obligar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obliga" for "obligar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "obliga" or "obligar"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "obliga" and "obligar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obliga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obligar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,842 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obliga" and "obligar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligar vs obligaría". 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 #287,842 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.