Which to use
“compás” is a noun and “cortas” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,053
- “compás” frequency rank
- #6,046
- “cortas” frequency rank
- 22099
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compás | cortas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Instrumento formado por dos piezas articuladas, utilizado para trazar círculos o traspasar medidas. | Forma del femenino plural de corto. |
Where the eye mixes compás and cortas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between compás and cortas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compás is [kõmˈpas] while cortas is [ˈkoɾt̪as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22099, 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]. cortas is at rank #6,046, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkoɾt̪as].
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 22099, this pair ranks #251,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compás vs cortas
Shared letters: cos. Private to "compás": mpá. Private to "cortas": art.
"compás" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cortas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cortas ← ccortas · corats · corrtas · cortass · cortsa · corttas · cotras · crotas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "compás" for "cortas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "compás" vs "cortas" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "cortas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #251,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compás" and "cortas" 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 #251,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.