Which to use
“obligado” is an adjective and “obligo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,134
- “obligado” frequency rank
- #31,023
- “obligo” frequency rank
- 34157
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligado | obligo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agradecido. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. |
Where the eye mixes obligado and obligo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. obligado runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against obligo's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between obligado and obligo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obligado is [oβ̞liˈɣ̞að̞o] while obligo is [oˈβ̞liɣ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 34157, 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]. obligo is at rank #31,023, tagged as averb, pronounced [oˈβ̞liɣ̞o].
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 34157, this pair ranks #192,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obligado vs obligo
Shared letters: bgilo. Private to "obligado": ad. Private to "obligo": -.
"obligado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "obligo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obligado" for "obligo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "obligado" vs "obligo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "obligado" and "obligo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obligado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obligo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obligado" and "obligo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligo vs obligue". 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 #192,940 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.