obliganvsobligaronConfusable pair

Which to use

“obligan” and “obligaron” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,188
“obligan” frequency rank
#12,432
“obligaron” frequency rank
22620
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obligan obligaron
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse.

Where the eye mixes obligan and obligaron

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. obligan runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against obligaron's 9 (VCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
obligan
9 ch
obligaron

Look-alike desk: obligan vs obligaron

A purely visual mix-up. obligan ([oˈβ̞liɣ̞ãn]) and obligaron ([oβ̞liˈɣ̞aɾõn]) 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 22620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obligan is recorded at frequency rank #10,188, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈβ̞liɣ̞ãn]. obligaron is at rank #12,432, tagged as averb, pronounced [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aɾõn].

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 22620, this pair ranks #249,482 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of obligan vs obligaron

Shared letters: abgilno. Private to "obligan": -. Private to "obligaron": r.

"obligan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "obligaron" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obligan ← boligan · obbligan · obilgan · oblgian · obliagn · obligann · obliggan · obligna
  • obligaron ← boligaron · obbligaron · obilgaron · oblgiaron · obliagron · obligaorn · obligarno · obligaronn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obligan" and "obligaron" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([oˈβ̞liɣ̞ãn] versus [oβ̞liˈɣ̞aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "obligan" or "obligaron"?
"obligan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,188 in our Spanish list, against #12,432 for "obligaron". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "obligan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "obligaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,482 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "obligan" and "obligaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obligaría vs obligaron". 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 #249,482 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list