cumplívscumplíaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,088
“cumplí” frequency rank
#15,823
“cumplía” frequency rank
39911
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cumplí cumplía
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de cumplir. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cumplir.

Where the eye mixes cumplí and cumplía

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cumplí runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against cumplía's 7 (CVCCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
cumplí
7 ch
cumplía

Look-alike desk: cumplí vs cumplía

A purely visual mix-up. cumplí ([kũmˈpli]) and cumplía ([kũmˈplia]) 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 extra letter(s) - “cumplí” sits inside “cumplía”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cumplí is recorded at frequency rank #24,088, classified as averb, pronounced [kũmˈpli]. cumplía is at rank #15,823, tagged as averb, pronounced [kũmˈplia].

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 39911, this pair ranks #161,984 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cumplí vs cumplía

Shared letters: clmpuí. Private to "cumplí": -. Private to "cumplía": a.

"cumplí" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "cumplía" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cumplí" and "cumplía" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kũmˈpli] versus [kũmˈplia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cumplí" or "cumplía"?
"cumplía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,823 in our Spanish list, against #24,088 for "cumplí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #161,984 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cumplí" and "cumplía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cumplí vs cumpliré". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #161,984 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