combinarvscompilarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“combinar” and “compilar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,745
“combinar” frequency rank
#28,908
“compilar” frequency rank
35653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature combinar compilar
Definition reunir em grupos agrupar várias obras de um determinado tema ou autor

Where the eye mixes combinar and compilar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
combinar
8 ch
compilar

Why the eye confuses combinar with compilar

A purely visual mix-up. combinar (/kõ.bi.ˈnaɾ/) and compilar (/kõ.pi.ˈlaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

combinar is recorded at frequency rank #6,745, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.bi.ˈnaɾ/. compilar is at rank #28,908, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.pi.ˈlaɾ/.

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 35653, this pair ranks #31,365 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of combinar vs compilar

Shared letters: acimor. Private to "combinar": bn. Private to "compilar": lp.

"combinar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "compilar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • combinarccombinar · cmobinar · cobminar · combbinar · combianr · combinarr · combinnar · combinra
  • compilarccompilar · cmopilar · comiplar · commpilar · compialr · compilarr · compillar · compilra

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "combinar" and "compilar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/kõ.bi.ˈnaɾ/ versus /kõ.pi.ˈlaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "combinar" or "compilar"?
"combinar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,745 in our Portuguese list, against #28,908 for "compilar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "combinar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compilar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #31,365 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "combinar" and "compilar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compilado vs compilar". 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 #31,365 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list