Which to use
“obrar” is a verb and “obrera” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,474
- “obrar” frequency rank
- #9,164
- “obrera” frequency rank
- 37638
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obrar | obrera |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ejecutar una acción, hacer algo. | Hembra estéril en numerosas especies de insectos eusociales, que desempeña tareas de recolección, defensa y construcción. |
Where the eye mixes obrar and obrera
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. obrar runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against obrera's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between obrar and obrera
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obrar is [oˈβ̞ɾaɾ] while obrera is [oˈβ̞ɾeɾa]. 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 37638, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obrar is recorded at frequency rank #28,474, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈβ̞ɾaɾ]. obrera is at rank #9,164, tagged as anoun, pronounced [oˈβ̞ɾeɾa].
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 37638, this pair ranks #174,246 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obrar vs obrera
Shared letters: abor. Private to "obrar": -. Private to "obrera": e.
"obrar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "obrera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "obrar" and "obrera" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "obrar" or "obrera" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "obrar" and "obrera" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obrera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #174,246 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obrar" and "obrera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obrar vs oirá". 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 #174,246 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.