Which to use
“obligaban” and “obligan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,238
- “obligaban” frequency rank
- #10,188
- “obligan” frequency rank
- 44426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligaban | obligan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de obligar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. |
Where the eye mixes obligaban and obligan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses obligaban with obligan
A purely visual mix-up. obligaban ([oβ̞liˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]) and obligan ([oˈβ̞liɣ̞ãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obligaban is recorded at frequency rank #34,238, classified as averb, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]. obligan is at rank #10,188, tagged as averb, pronounced [oˈβ̞liɣ̞ãn].
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 44426, this pair ranks #137,124 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obligaban vs obligan
Shared letters: abgilno. Private to "obligaban": -. Private to "obligan": -.
"obligaban" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "obligan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obligaban" for "obligan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "obligaban" vs "obligan" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "obligaban" and "obligan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obligaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obligan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #137,124 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obligaban" and "obligan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligaban vs obligará". 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 #137,124 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.