obedecer vs oferecer, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“obedecer” and “oferecer” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,056
“obedecer” frequency rank: #1,825
“oferecer” frequency rank: 11881
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	obedecer	oferecer
Definition	seguir os comandos, desejos e restrições de alguém	dar como oferta; ofertar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obedecer and oferecer apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

obedecer

8 ch

oferecer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. obedecer (/ɔ.bɨ.dɨ.ˈseɾ/) and oferecer (/ɔ.fɨ.ɾɨ.ˈseɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11881, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obedecer is recorded at frequency rank #10,056, classified as averb, pronounced /ɔ.bɨ.dɨ.ˈseɾ/. oferecer is at rank #1,825, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɔ.fɨ.ɾɨ.ˈseɾ/.

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 11881, this pair ranks #60,866 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of obedecer vs oferecer

Shared letters: ceor. Private to "obedecer": bd. Private to "oferecer": f.

"obedecer" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC · "oferecer" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

obedecer ← boedecer · obbedecer · obdeecer · obedceer · obeddecer · obedeccer · obedecerr · obedecre
oferecer ← foerecer · oefrecer · ofeercer · oferceer · ofereccer · oferecerr · oferecre · ofereecr

Frequency comparison

obedecer#10,056

oferecer#1,825

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obedecer" and "oferecer" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɔ.bɨ.dɨ.ˈseɾ/ versus /ɔ.fɨ.ɾɨ.ˈseɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "obedecer" or "oferecer"?

"oferecer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,825 in our Portuguese list, against #10,056 for "obedecer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obedecer vs oferecer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obedecer” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable