obreravsobrerasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: obrera is a noun, obreras is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“obrera” is a noun and “obreras” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,164
“obrera” frequency rank
#19,816
“obreras” frequency rank
28980
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obrera obreras
Definition Hembra estéril en numerosas especies de insectos eusociales, que desempeña tareas de recolección, defensa y construcción. Forma del femenino plural de obrero.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obrera and obreras apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
obrera
7 ch
obreras

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obrera is [oˈβ̞ɾeɾa] while obreras is [oˈβ̞ɾeɾas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “obrera” sits inside “obreras”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obrera is recorded at frequency rank #9,164, classified as anoun, pronounced [oˈβ̞ɾeɾa]. obreras is at rank #19,816, tagged as anadj, pronounced [oˈβ̞ɾeɾas].

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 28980, this pair ranks #219,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obrera vs obreras

Shared letters: abeor. Private to "obrera": -. Private to "obreras": s.

"obrera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "obreras" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obreraborera · obbrera · oberra · obrear · obrerra · obrrea · obrrera · orbera
  • obrerasboreras · obbreras · oberras · obrears · obrerass · obrerras · obrersa · obrreas

Frequency comparison

obrera#9,164
obreras#19,816

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obrera" and "obreras" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obrera" is a noun and "obreras" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "obrera" or "obreras"?
"obrera" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,164 in our Spanish list, against #19,816 for "obreras". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obrera vs obreras

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “obrera”; for an adjective, it's “obreras”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obrera” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list