Which to use
“obliga” and “obligo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,444
- “obliga” frequency rank
- #31,023
- “obligo” frequency rank
- 35467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obliga | obligo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. |
Where the eye mixes obliga and obligo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. obliga and obligo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between obliga and obligo
A purely visual mix-up. obliga ([oˈβ̞liɣ̞a]) and obligo ([oˈβ̞liɣ̞o]) 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 a single letter - a in “obliga” becomes o in “obligo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35467, 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]. obligo is at rank #31,023, tagged as averb, pronounced [oˈβ̞liɣ̞o].
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 35467, this pair ranks #185,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obliga vs obligo
Shared letters: bgilo. Private to "obliga": a. Private to "obligo": -.
"obliga" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "obligo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obliga" for "obligo" ever safe?
Which is more common, "obliga" or "obligo"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "obliga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obligo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #185,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obliga" and "obligo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligo vs obligue". 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 #185,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.