Which to use
“obligo” is a verb and “ombligo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,023
- “obligo” frequency rank
- #16,402
- “ombligo” frequency rank
- 47425
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligo | ombligo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de obligar o de obligarse. | Cicatriz dejada en el bajo vientre al cortar el cordón umbilical que une la madre al nonato. |
Where the eye mixes obligo and ombligo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: obligo vs ombligo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obligo is [oˈβ̞liɣ̞o] while ombligo is [õmˈbliɣ̞o]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obligo is recorded at frequency rank #31,023, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈβ̞liɣ̞o]. ombligo is at rank #16,402, tagged as anoun, pronounced [õmˈbliɣ̞o].
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 47425, this pair ranks #120,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obligo vs ombligo
Shared letters: bgilo. Private to "obligo": -. Private to "ombligo": m.
"obligo" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "ombligo" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obligo" for "ombligo" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "obligo" or "ombligo" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "obligo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ombligo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #120,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obligo" and "ombligo" 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 #120,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.