# competent vs competes

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### competent
*adjective · IPA /ˈkɒmpətənt/ · frequency rank #8,018*
Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications.

### competes
*verb · IPA /kəmˈpiːts/ · frequency rank #21,756*
third-person singular simple present indicative of compete

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/competent-vs-competes