complicanvscomplicarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,713
“complican” frequency rank
#24,067
“complicar” frequency rank
55780
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature complican complicar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de complicar. Mezclar, combinar o unir cosas diversas entre sí.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set complican and complicar apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
complican
9 ch
complicar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. complican ([kõmˈplikãn]) 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 a single letter - n in “complican” becomes r in “complicar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

complican is recorded at frequency rank #31,713, classified as averb, pronounced [kõmˈplikãn]. 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 55780, this pair ranks #77,369 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of complican vs complicar

Shared letters: acilmop. Private to "complican": n. Private to "complicar": r.

"complican" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "complicar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • complicanccomplican · cmoplican · comlpican · commplican · compilcan · complcian · compliacn · complicann
  • complicarccomplicar · cmoplicar · comlpicar · commplicar · compilcar · complciar · compliacr · complicarr

Frequency comparison

complican#31,713
complicar#24,067

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "complican" and "complicar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõmˈplikãn] versus [kõmpliˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "complican" or "complicar"?
"complicar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,067 in our Spanish list, against #31,713 for "complican". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering complican vs complicar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “complican” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list