obsessãovsopressãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,116
“obsessão” frequency rank
#12,119
“opressão” frequency rank
24235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obsessão opressão
Definition preocupação constante ato ou efeito de oprimir

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
obsessão
8 ch
opressão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. obsessão (/ɔb.sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and opressão (/ɔ.pɾɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 24235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obsessão is recorded at frequency rank #12,116, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɔb.sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. opressão is at rank #12,119, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɔ.pɾɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 24235, this pair ranks #45,429 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obsessão vs opressão

Shared letters: eosã. Private to "obsessão": b. Private to "opressão": pr.

"obsessão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV  ·  "opressão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

obsessão#12,116
opressão#12,119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obsessão" and "opressão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɔb.sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /ɔ.pɾɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "obsessão" or "opressão"?
"obsessão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,116 in our Portuguese list, against #12,119 for "opressão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obsessão vs opressão

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 “obsessão” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list