compásvscompraTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,053
“compás” frequency rank
#1,368
“compra” frequency rank
17421
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compás compra
Definition Instrumento formado por dos piezas articuladas, utilizado para trazar círculos o traspasar medidas. Acción o resultado de comprar.

Where the eye mixes compás and compra

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
compás
6 ch
compra

Visual trap between compás and compra

A purely visual mix-up. compás ([kõmˈpas]) and compra ([ˈkõmpɾa]) 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 17421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compás is recorded at frequency rank #16,053, classified as anoun, pronounced [kõmˈpas]. compra is at rank #1,368, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkõmpɾa].

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 17421, this pair ranks #272,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of compás vs compra

Shared letters: cmop. Private to "compás": . Private to "compra": ar.

"compás" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "compra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • compraccompra · cmopra · commpra · compar · comppra · comrpa · copmra · ocmpra

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "compás" and "compra" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kõmˈpas] versus [ˈkõmpɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "compás" vs "compra" - which ranks higher?
"compra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,368 in our Spanish list, against #16,053 for "compás". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "compás" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #272,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compás" and "compra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comba vs compás". 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 #272,170 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