compróvscomprobéTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,293
“compró” frequency rank
#37,505
“comprobé” frequency rank
42798
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compró comprobé
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de comprar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de comprobar.

Where the eye mixes compró and comprobé

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

6 ch
compró
8 ch
comprobé

Look-alike desk: compró vs comprobé

A purely visual mix-up. compró ([kõmˈpɾo]) and comprobé ([kõmpɾoˈβ̞e]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compró is recorded at frequency rank #5,293, classified as averb, pronounced [kõmˈpɾo]. comprobé is at rank #37,505, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõmpɾoˈβ̞e].

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 42798, this pair ranks #146,234 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of compró vs comprobé

Shared letters: cmopr. Private to "compró": ó. Private to "comprobé": .

"compró" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "comprobé" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "compró" for "comprobé" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kõmˈpɾo] versus [kõmpɾoˈβ̞e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "compró" or "comprobé" show up more?
"compró" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,293 in our Spanish list, against #37,505 for "comprobé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "compró" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "comprobé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #146,234 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compró" and "comprobé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comprate vs comprobé". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #146,234 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