Which to use
“completar” and “complicar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,051
- “completar” frequency rank
- #18,285
- “complicar” frequency rank
- 22336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | completar | complicar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tornar ou deixar completo, acabar | dificultar |
Where the eye mixes completar and complicar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses completar with complicar
A purely visual mix-up. completar (/kõ.plɨ.ˈtaɾ/) and complicar (/kõ.pli.ˈkaɾ/) 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 22336, 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/. complicar is at rank #18,285, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.pli.ˈkaɾ/.
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 22336, this pair ranks #47,735 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of completar vs complicar
Shared letters: aclmopr. Private to "completar": et. Private to "complicar": i.
"completar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "complicar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "completar" for "complicar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "completar" vs "complicar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "completar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "complicar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #47,735 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "completar" and "complicar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compilar 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 #47,735 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.