cumplívscumplirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,088
“cumplí” frequency rank
#1,281
“cumplir” frequency rank
25369
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cumplí cumplir
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de cumplir. Llegar a tener una determinada edad.

Where the eye mixes cumplí and cumplir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cumplí runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against cumplir's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
cumplí
7 ch
cumplir

Why the eye confuses cumplí with cumplir

A purely visual mix-up. cumplí ([kũmˈpli]) and cumplir ([kũmˈpliɾ]) 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 25369, 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]. cumplir is at rank #1,281, tagged as averb, pronounced [kũmˈpliɾ].

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 25369, this pair ranks #236,731 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cumplí vs cumplir

Shared letters: clmpu. Private to "cumplí": í. Private to "cumplir": ir.

"cumplí" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "cumplir" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cumplirccumplir · cmuplir · cumlpir · cummplir · cumpilr · cumplirr · cumpllir · cumplri

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cumplí" and "cumplir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kũmˈpli] versus [kũmˈpliɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cumplí" or "cumplir"?
"cumplir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,281 in our Spanish list, against #24,088 for "cumplí". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #236,731 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cumplí" and "cumplir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cumplí vs cumpliré". 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 #236,731 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