Which to use
“obligadas” is a participle and “obligado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,431
- “obligadas” frequency rank
- #3,134
- “obligado” frequency rank
- 18565
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligadas | obligado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino plural de obligado, participio de obligar o de obligarse. | Agradecido. |
Where the eye mixes obligadas and obligado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. obligadas runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCVC) against obligado's 8 (VCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses obligadas with obligado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obligadas is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞as] while obligado is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞o]. 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 (participle vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obligadas is recorded at frequency rank #15,431, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞as]. obligado is at rank #3,134, tagged as anadj, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞o].
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 18565, this pair ranks #267,373 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obligadas vs obligado
Shared letters: abdgilo. Private to "obligadas": s. Private to "obligado": -.
"obligadas" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "obligado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obligadas" for "obligado" ever safe?
Frequency check: "obligadas" vs "obligado" - which ranks higher?
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 "obligadas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obligado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,373 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obligadas" and "obligado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligaban vs obligadas". 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 #267,373 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.