Which to use
“completar” is a verb and “completo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,051
- “completar” frequency rank
- #1,963
- “completo” frequency rank
- 6014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | completar | completo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tornar ou deixar completo, acabar | a que não falta nada |
Where the eye mixes completar and completo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses completar with completo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: completar is /kõ.plɨ.ˈtaɾ/ while completo is /kõ.ˈplɛ.tu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
completar is recorded at frequency rank #4,051, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.plɨ.ˈtaɾ/. completo is at rank #1,963, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kõ.ˈplɛ.tu/.
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 6014, this pair ranks #68,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of completar vs completo
Shared letters: celmopt. Private to "completar": ar. Private to "completo": -.
"completar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "completo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "completar" and "completo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "completar" or "completo" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "completar" and "completo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "completar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "completo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "completar" and "completo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "completar vs complicar". 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 #68,519 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.