Which to use
“obviar” and “obvias” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,167
- “obviar” frequency rank
- #16,398
- “obvias” frequency rank
- 46565
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obviar | obvias |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Neutralizar o suprimir un obstáculo o inconveniente al ignorarlo, apartarlo, quitarlo etc. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de obviar. |
Where the eye mixes obviar and obvias
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. obviar and obvias follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses obviar with obvias
A purely visual mix-up. obviar ([oβ̞ˈbjaɾ]) and obvias ([ˈoβ̞bjas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - r in “obviar” becomes s in “obvias”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obviar is recorded at frequency rank #30,167, classified as averb, pronounced [oβ̞ˈbjaɾ]. obvias is at rank #16,398, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈoβ̞bjas].
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 46565, this pair ranks #125,010 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obviar vs obvias
Shared letters: abiov. Private to "obviar": r. Private to "obvias": s.
"obviar" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "obvias" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obviar" for "obvias" ever safe?
Which is more common, "obviar" or "obvias"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "obviar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "obvias" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #125,010 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obviar" and "obvias" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obvias vs ostias". 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 #125,010 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.