obra vs ombro, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#702
“obra” frequency rank: #5,562
“ombro” frequency rank: 6264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	obra	ombro
Definition	resultado de uma ação ou de um trabalho	sombra

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

obra

5 ch

ombro

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. obra (/ˈɔ.bɾɐ/) and ombro (/ɔm.ˈbrɔ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obra is recorded at frequency rank #702, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɔ.bɾɐ/. ombro is at rank #5,562, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɔm.ˈbrɔ/.

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 6264, this pair ranks #68,194 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of obra vs ombro

Shared letters: bor. Private to "obra": a. Private to "ombro": m.

"obra" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ombro" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

obra ← obar · obbra · obrra · orba
ombro ← mobro · obmro · ombbro · ombor · ombrro · ommbro · omrbo

Frequency comparison

obra#702

ombro#5,562

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No. They are said differently (/ˈɔ.bɾɐ/ versus /ɔm.ˈbrɔ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

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

"obra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #702 in our Portuguese list, against #5,562 for "ombro". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obra vs ombro

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 “obra” entry
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