Which to use
“compra” is a noun and “compró” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,368
- “compra” frequency rank
- #5,293
- “compró” frequency rank
- 6661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compra | compró |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o resultado de comprar. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de comprar. |
Where the eye mixes compra and compró
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: compra vs compró
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compra is [ˈkõmpɾa] while compró is [kõmˈpɾo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “compra” becomes ó in “compró”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compra is recorded at frequency rank #1,368, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkõmpɾa]. compró is at rank #5,293, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõmˈpɾo].
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 6661, this pair ranks #310,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compra vs compró
Shared letters: cmopr. Private to "compra": a. Private to "compró": ó.
"compra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "compró" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- compra ← ccompra · cmopra · commpra · compar · comppra · comrpa · copmra · ocmpra
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compra" and "compró" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "compra" or "compró" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "compra" and "compró" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "compra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compró" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compra" and "compró" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cometo vs compró". 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 #310,138 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.