obsesiónvsobsesionaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: obsesión is a noun, obsesiona is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“obsesión” is a noun and “obsesiona” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,557
“obsesión” frequency rank
#44,892
“obsesiona” frequency rank
53449
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obsesión obsesiona
Definition Preocupación o atención compulsiva, irracional o recurrente hacia una sola cosa. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obsesionar o de obsesionarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obsesión and obsesiona apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
obsesión
9 ch
obsesiona

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obsesión is [oβ̞seˈsjõn] while obsesiona is [oβ̞seˈsjona]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obsesión is recorded at frequency rank #8,557, classified as anoun, pronounced [oβ̞seˈsjõn]. obsesiona is at rank #44,892, tagged as averb, pronounced [oβ̞seˈsjona].

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 53449, this pair ranks #87,810 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obsesión vs obsesiona

Shared letters: beinos. Private to "obsesión": ó. Private to "obsesiona": a.

"obsesión" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC  ·  "obsesiona" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obsesionabosesiona · obbsesiona · obceciona · obessiona · obseisona · obsesinoa · obsesioan · obsesionna

Frequency comparison

obsesión#8,557
obsesiona#44,892

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obsesión" and "obsesiona" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obsesión" is a noun and "obsesiona" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "obsesión" or "obsesiona"?
"obsesión" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,557 in our Spanish list, against #44,892 for "obsesiona". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obsesión vs obsesiona

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “obsesión”; for a verb, it's “obsesiona”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obsesión” 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