obviavsobvioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: obvia is a verb, obvio is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“obvia” is a verb and “obvio” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,827
“obvia” frequency rank
#2,462
“obvio” frequency rank
14289
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obvia obvio
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de obviar. Que es claro, comprensible y no amerita discusión ni explicación.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obvia and obvio apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
obvia
5 ch
obvio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obvia is [ˈoβ̞bja] while obvio is [ˈoβ̞bjo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “obvia” becomes o in “obvio”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obvia is recorded at frequency rank #11,827, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈoβ̞bja]. obvio is at rank #2,462, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈoβ̞bjo].

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 14289, this pair ranks #284,701 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of obvia vs obvio

Shared letters: biov. Private to "obvia": a. Private to "obvio": -.

"obvia" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "obvio" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obviabovia · obbia · obbvia · obiva · obvai · obvvia · ovbia · ovvia
  • obviobovio · obbio · obbvio · obivo · obvoi · obvvio · ovbio · ovvio

Frequency comparison

obvia#11,827
obvio#2,462

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obvia" and "obvio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obvia" is a verb and "obvio" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "obvia" or "obvio"?
"obvio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,462 in our Spanish list, against #11,827 for "obvia". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obvia vs obvio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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