Which to use
“obra” and “ostra” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #702
- “obra” frequency rank
- #37,449
- “ostra” frequency rank
- 38151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obra | ostra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | resultado de uma ação ou de um trabalho | nome comum a vários moluscos bivalves da família dos ostreídeos, alguns tendo importância econômica por serem comestíveis e de alto valor nutritivo, outras espécies que são cultivadas para a produção de pérolas, que vivem fixados a alguma base |
Where the eye mixes obra and ostra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. obra runs 4 letters (VCCV) against ostra's 5 (VCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses obra with ostra
A purely visual mix-up. obra (/ˈɔ.bɾɐ/) and ostra (/ˈos.tɾɐ/) 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 38151, 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/. ostra is at rank #37,449, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈos.tɾɐ/.
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 38151, this pair ranks #28,355 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of obra vs ostra
Shared letters: aor. Private to "obra": b. Private to "ostra": st.
"obra" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ostra" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "obra" for "ostra" ever safe?
Frequency check: "obra" vs "ostra" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "obra" and "ostra" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "obra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ostra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,355 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obra" and "ostra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ostra vs ota". 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 #28,355 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.