Which to use
“capo” and “compo” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,689
- “capo” frequency rank
- #39,228
- “compo” frequency rank
- 77917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capo | compo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chef mafieux. | Composition (d’une équipe par exemple). |
Where the eye mixes capo and compo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. capo runs 4 letters (CVCV) against compo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses capo with compo
A purely visual mix-up. capo (\ka.po\) and compo (\kɔ̃.po\) 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 77917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
capo is recorded at frequency rank #38,689, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.po\. compo is at rank #39,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.po\.
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 77917, this pair ranks #27,099 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of capo vs compo
Shared letters: cop. Private to "capo": a. Private to "compo": m.
"capo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "compo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "capo" for "compo" ever safe?
Which is more common, "capo" or "compo"?
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 "capo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,099 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "capo" and "compo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compo vs coupa". 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 #27,099 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.