oba vs obra, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“oba” is a num and “obra” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,674
“oba” frequency rank: #702
“obra” frequency rank: 21376
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	oba	obra
Definition	ambos, um e outro, uma e outra	resultado de uma ação ou de um trabalho

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set oba and obra apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

oba

4 ch

obra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: oba is /ˈʔɔba/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while obra is /ˈɔ.bɾɐ/. 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21376, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

oba is recorded at frequency rank #20,674, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈʔɔba/ ouvir^(fonte ?). obra is at rank #702, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɔ.bɾɐ/.

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 21376, this pair ranks #48,928 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of oba vs obra

Shared letters: abo. Private to "oba": -. Private to "obra": r.

"oba" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "obra" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

obra ← obar · obbra · obrra · orba

Frequency comparison

oba#20,674

obra#702

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "oba" and "obra" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "oba" is a num and "obra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "oba" or "obra"?

"obra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #702 in our Portuguese list, against #20,674 for "oba". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering oba vs obra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “oba”; for a noun, it's “obra”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “oba” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable