competevscompiteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#31,712
“compete” frequency rank
#17,078
“compite” frequency rank
48790
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compete compite
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de competer. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de competir.

Where the eye mixes compete and compite

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
compete
7 ch
compite

Look-alike desk: compete vs compite

A purely visual mix-up. compete ([kõmˈpet̪e]) and compite ([kõmˈpit̪e]) 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 a single letter - e in “compete” becomes i in “compite”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48790, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compete is recorded at frequency rank #31,712, classified as averb, pronounced [kõmˈpet̪e]. compite is at rank #17,078, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõmˈpit̪e].

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 48790, this pair ranks #112,524 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of compete vs compite

Shared letters: cemopt. Private to "compete": -. Private to "compite": i.

"compete" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "compite" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • competeccompete · cmopete · comepte · commpete · compeet · compette · comppete · comptee
  • compiteccompite · cmopite · comipte · commpite · compiet · compitte · comppite · comptie

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "compete" and "compite" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kõmˈpet̪e] versus [kõmˈpit̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "compete" or "compite"?
"compite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,078 in our Spanish list, against #31,712 for "compete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "compete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #112,524 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compete" and "compite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compete vs compita". 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 #112,524 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