Which to use
“compás” is a noun and “cotas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,053
- “compás” frequency rank
- #27,549
- “cotas” frequency rank
- 43602
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compás | cotas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Instrumento formado por dos piezas articuladas, utilizado para trazar círculos o traspasar medidas. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de cotar. |
Where the eye mixes compás and cotas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: compás vs cotas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compás is [kõmˈpas] while cotas is [ˈkot̪as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43602, 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]. cotas is at rank #27,549, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkot̪as].
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 43602, this pair ranks #141,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of compás vs cotas
Shared letters: cos. Private to "compás": mpá. Private to "cotas": at.
"compás" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cotas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cotas ← ccotas · coats · cotass · cottas · ctoas · octas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "compás" for "cotas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "compás" vs "cotas" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "compás" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cotas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #141,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compás" and "cotas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cotas vs Cova". 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 #141,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.