completovscompostoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,963
“completo” frequency rank
#3,131
“composto” frequency rank
5094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature completo composto
Definition a que não falta nada que é formado de mais de um item

Where the eye mixes completo and composto

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

8 ch
completo
8 ch
composto

Look-alike desk: completo vs composto

A purely visual mix-up. completo (/kõ.ˈplɛ.tu/) and composto (/kõ.ˈpoʃ.tu/) 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 5094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

completo is recorded at frequency rank #1,963, classified as anadj, pronounced /kõ.ˈplɛ.tu/. composto is at rank #3,131, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kõ.ˈpoʃ.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 5094, this pair ranks #69,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of completo vs composto

Shared letters: cmopt. Private to "completo": el. Private to "composto": s.

"completo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "composto" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • completoccompleto · cmopleto · comlpeto · commpleto · compelto · compleot · completto · complleto
  • compostoccomposto · cmoposto · commposto · comopsto · composot · compossto · compostto · compotso

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "completo" for "composto" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/kõ.ˈplɛ.tu/ versus /kõ.ˈpoʃ.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "completo" or "composto"?
"completo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,963 in our Portuguese list, against #3,131 for "composto". 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 "completo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "composto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #69,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "completo" and "composto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compasso vs composto". 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 #69,619 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