cimasvscompásWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cimas” and “compás” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,102
“cimas” frequency rank
#16,053
“compás” frequency rank
45155
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cimas compás
Definition Forma del plural de cima. Instrumento formado por dos piezas articuladas, utilizado para trazar círculos o traspasar medidas.

Where the eye mixes cimas and compás

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
cimas
6 ch
compás

Why the eye confuses cimas with compás

A purely visual mix-up. cimas ([ˈsimas]) and compás ([kõmˈpas]) 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 45155, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cimas is recorded at frequency rank #29,102, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsimas]. compás is at rank #16,053, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kõmˈpas].

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 45155, this pair ranks #133,069 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cimas vs compás

Shared letters: cms. Private to "cimas": ai. Private to "compás": opá.

"cimas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "compás" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cimasccimas · ciams · cimass · cimmas · cimsa · cmias · icmas · simas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cimas" and "compás" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsimas] versus [kõmˈpas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cimas" or "compás"?
"compás" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,053 in our Spanish list, against #29,102 for "cimas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "cimas" and "compás" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cimas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compás" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #133,069 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cimas" and "compás" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cimas vs cojas". 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 #133,069 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list