comparsavscompraConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#40,485
“comparsa” frequency rank
#1,564
“compra” frequency rank
42049
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature comparsa compra
Definition cúmplice, parceiro ato ou efeito de comprar

Where the eye mixes comparsa and compra

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

8 ch
comparsa
6 ch
compra

Look-alike desk: comparsa vs compra

A purely visual mix-up. comparsa (/kõ.ˈpaɾ.sɐ/) and compra (/ˈkõ.pɾɐ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

comparsa is recorded at frequency rank #40,485, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.ˈpaɾ.sɐ/. compra is at rank #1,564, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkõ.pɾɐ/.

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 42049, this pair ranks #23,780 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of comparsa vs compra

Shared letters: acmopr. Private to "comparsa": s. Private to "compra": -.

"comparsa" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "compra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • comparsaccomparsa · cmoparsa · comaprsa · commparsa · comparas · comparrsa · comparssa · compasra
  • compraccompra · cmopra · commpra · compar · comppra · comrpa · copmra · ocmpra

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "comparsa" and "compra" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/kõ.ˈpaɾ.sɐ/ versus /ˈkõ.pɾɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "comparsa" vs "compra" - which ranks higher?
"compra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,564 in our Portuguese list, against #40,485 for "comparsa". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "comparsa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #23,780 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "comparsa" and "compra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comparsa vs compasso". 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 #23,780 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