Which to use
“obligaba” is a verb and “obligadas” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,753
- “obligaba” frequency rank
- #15,431
- “obligadas” frequency rank
- 36184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligaba | obligadas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. | Forma del femenino plural de obligado, participio de obligar o de obligarse. |
Where the eye mixes obligaba and obligadas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. obligaba runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against obligadas's 9 (VCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: obligaba vs obligadas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obligaba is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aβ̞a] while obligadas is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞as]. 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 (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36184, 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]. obligadas is at rank #15,431, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞as].
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 36184, this pair ranks #182,005 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obligaba vs obligadas
Shared letters: abgilo. Private to "obligaba": -. Private to "obligadas": ds.
"obligaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "obligadas" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "obligaba" and "obligadas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "obligaba" or "obligadas" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "obligaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obligadas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,005 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obligaba" and "obligadas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligaba 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 #182,005 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.