Which to use
“obsesión” is a noun and “obsesivo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,557
- “obsesión” frequency rank
- #23,517
- “obsesivo” frequency rank
- 32074
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obsesión | obsesivo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Preocupación o atención compulsiva, irracional o recurrente hacia una sola cosa. | Que pertenece o esta relacionado con la obsesión. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obsesión and obsesivo apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obsesión is [oβ̞seˈsjõn] while obsesivo is [oβ̞seˈsiβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32074, 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]. obsesivo is at rank #23,517, tagged as anadj, pronounced [oβ̞seˈsiβ̞o].
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 32074, this pair ranks #203,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obsesión vs obsesivo
Shared letters: beios. Private to "obsesión": nó. Private to "obsesivo": v.
"obsesión" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC · "obsesivo" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- obsesivo ← bosesivo · obbsesivo · obcecivo · obessivo · obseisvo · obsesibo · obsesiov · obsesivvo
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obsesión" and "obsesivo" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "obsesión" or "obsesivo"?
Remembering obsesión vs obsesivo
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “obsesión”; for an adjective, it's “obsesivo”.
- 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