obligabavsobligadaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: obligaba is a verb, obligada is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“obligaba” is a verb and “obligada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,753
“obligaba” frequency rank
#7,604
“obligada” frequency rank
28357
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obligaba obligada
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. Forma del femenino de obligado, participio de obligar o de obligarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obligaba and obligada apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
obligaba
8 ch
obligada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obligaba is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aβ̞a] while obligada is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “obligaba” becomes d in “obligada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28357, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obligaba is recorded at frequency rank #20,753, classified as averb, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aβ̞a]. obligada is at rank #7,604, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞a].

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 28357, this pair ranks #222,434 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obligaba vs obligada

Shared letters: abgilo. Private to "obligaba": -. Private to "obligada": d.

"obligaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "obligada" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obligababoligaba · obbligaba · obilgaba · oblgiaba · obliagba · obligaab · obligabba · obligbaa
  • obligadaboligada · obbligada · obilgada · oblgiada · obliagda · obligaad · obligadda · obligdaa

Frequency comparison

obligaba#20,753
obligada#7,604

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obligaba" and "obligada" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obligaba" is a verb and "obligada" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "obligaba" or "obligada"?
"obligada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,604 in our Spanish list, against #20,753 for "obligaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obligaba vs obligada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “obligaba”; for a participle, it's “obligada”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obligaba” 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