Which to use
“ob” is a pronoun and “oba” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,692
- “ob” frequency rank
- #20,674
- “oba” frequency rank
- 49366
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ob | oba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eu, pronome pessoal do caso nominativo da primeira pessoa do singular; | ambos, um e outro, uma e outra |
Where the eye mixes ob and oba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ob vs oba
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ob is /ob/ while oba is /ˈʔɔba/ ouvir^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ob” sits inside “oba”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49366, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ob is recorded at frequency rank #28,692, classified as apron, pronounced /ob/. oba is at rank #20,674, tagged as anum, pronounced /ˈʔɔba/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 49366, this pair ranks #15,659 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ob vs oba
Shared letters: bo. Private to "ob": -. Private to "oba": a.
"ob" · 2 letters · shape VC · "oba" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ob" and "oba" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ob" or "oba"?
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 "ob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "oba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,659 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ob" and "oba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ob vs oni". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #15,659 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.