Which to use
“completar” and “complicar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,586
- “completar” frequency rank
- #24,067
- “complicar” frequency rank
- 28653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | completar | complicar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer que algo llegue hasta su plena realización, que quede cabalmente terminado. | Mezclar, combinar o unir cosas diversas entre sí. |
Where the eye mixes completar and complicar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. completar and complicar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses completar with complicar
A purely visual mix-up. completar ([kõmpleˈt̪aɾ]) and complicar ([kõmpliˈkaɾ]) 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 28653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
completar is recorded at frequency rank #4,586, classified as averb, pronounced [kõmpleˈt̪aɾ]. complicar is at rank #24,067, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõmpliˈkaɾ].
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 28653, this pair ranks #220,933 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of completar vs complicar
Shared letters: aclmopr. Private to "completar": et. Private to "complicar": i.
"completar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "complicar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "completar" for "complicar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "completar" vs "complicar" - 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 "completar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "complicar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,933 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "completar" and "complicar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "complicar vs complice". 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 #220,933 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.