compróvscompusoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,293
“compró” frequency rank
#17,638
“compuso” frequency rank
22931
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes compró and compuso

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
compró
7 ch
compuso

Visual trap between compró and compuso

A purely visual mix-up. compró ([kõmˈpɾo]) and compuso ([kõmˈpuso]) 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 22931, 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]. compuso is at rank #17,638, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõmˈpuso].

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 22931, this pair ranks #248,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of compró vs compuso

Shared letters: cmop. Private to "compró": . Private to "compuso": su.

"compró" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "compuso" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • compusoccompuso · cmopuso · commpuso · comppuso · compsuo · compuos · compusso · comupso

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "compró" and "compuso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kõmˈpɾo] versus [kõmˈpuso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "compró" vs "compuso" - which ranks higher?
"compró" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,293 in our Spanish list, against #17,638 for "compuso". 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 "compuso" 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 "compuso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #248,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compró" and "compuso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comparo vs compuso". 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 #248,102 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