compresvscompróWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,304
“compres” frequency rank
#5,293
“compró” frequency rank
27597
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compres compró
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo 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 compres and compró

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
compres
6 ch
compró

Look-alike desk: compres vs compró

A purely visual mix-up. compres ([ˈkõmpɾes]) and compró ([kõmˈpɾo]) 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 27597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compres is recorded at frequency rank #22,304, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkõmpɾes]. 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 27597, this pair ranks #226,042 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of compres vs compró

Shared letters: cmopr. Private to "compres": es. Private to "compró": ó.

"compres" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "compró" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • compresccompres · cmopres · commpres · compers · comppres · compress · comprres · comprse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "compres" for "compró" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkõmpɾes] versus [kõmˈpɾo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "compres" vs "compró" - which ranks higher?
"compró" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,293 in our Spanish list, against #22,304 for "compres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "compres" and "compró" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "compres" 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 #226,042 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compres" and "compró" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compremos vs compres". 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 #226,042 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