Which to use
“contact” and “contract” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,252
- “contact” frequency rank
- #40,465
- “contract” frequency rank
- 57717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contact | contract |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kontakt, Ansprechpartner, Berührung | Vertrag |
Where the eye mixes contact and contract
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: contact vs contract
A purely visual mix-up. contact ([kɔ̃.takt]) and contract ([ˈkɒntrækt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contact is recorded at frequency rank #17,252, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔ̃.takt]. contract is at rank #40,465, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɒntrækt].
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 57717, this pair ranks #890,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contact vs contract
Shared letters: acnot. Private to "contact": -. Private to "contract": r.
"contact" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "contract" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contact" and "contract" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "contact" or "contract"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contact" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contract" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #890,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contact" and "contract" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contra vs contract". 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 #890,427 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.