Which to use
“complicado” and “complicar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,971
- “complicado” frequency rank
- #24,067
- “complicar” frequency rank
- 27038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | complicado | complicar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participio de complicar. | Mezclar, combinar o unir cosas diversas entre sí. |
Where the eye mixes complicado and complicar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between complicado and complicar
A purely visual mix-up. complicado ([kõmpliˈkað̞o]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
complicado is recorded at frequency rank #2,971, classified as averb, pronounced [kõmpliˈkað̞o]. 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 27038, this pair ranks #228,751 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of complicado vs complicar
Shared letters: acilmop. Private to "complicado": d. Private to "complicar": r.
"complicado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV · "complicar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- complicado ← ccomplicado · cmoplicado · comlpicado · commplicado · compilcado · complciado · compliacdo · complicaddo
- complicar ← ccomplicar · cmoplicar · comlpicar · commplicar · compilcar · complciar · compliacr · complicarr
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "complicado" and "complicar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "complicado" or "complicar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "complicado" 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 #228,751 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "complicado" 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 #228,751 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.