Which to use
“obligado” is an adjective and “obligar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,134
- “obligado” frequency rank
- #9,002
- “obligar” frequency rank
- 12136
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligado | obligar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agradecido. | Atar, ligar, precisar, mover eficazmente a alguna cosa, aunque sea repugnante al gusto y genio del que la ha de ejecutar. |
Where the eye mixes obligado and obligar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. obligado runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against obligar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between obligado and obligar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obligado is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞o] while obligar is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aɾ]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12136, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obligado is recorded at frequency rank #3,134, classified as anadj, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞o]. obligar is at rank #9,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aɾ].
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 12136, this pair ranks #292,610 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obligado vs obligar
Shared letters: abgilo. Private to "obligado": d. Private to "obligar": r.
"obligado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "obligar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "obligado" and "obligar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "obligado" vs "obligar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "obligado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obligar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #292,610 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obligado" and "obligar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligar 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 #292,610 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.