contra

/[ˈkɔntʁa]/ prep

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#13,117

in German word usage

Misspellings

9

tracked variants

Confusables

12

similar word pairs

contra is aGermanprep. It means: gegen, wider Pronounced [ˈkɔntʁa]. Often confused with cora and costa.

Key facts for contra
PropertyValue
Headwordcontra
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPrep
IPA[ˈkɔntʁa]
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,117
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of contra in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for contra is 6 letters long, classified as aprep, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈkɔntʁa]. Corpus data places it at rank #13,117 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "gegen, wider".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for contra, with forms such as "ccontra", "cnotra", and "conntra". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "cora", "costa", "country", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is contra, spelled C-O-N-T-R-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    gegen, wider

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccontra,cnotra,conntra,conrta,contar,contrra,conttra,cotnra,ocntra

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for contra

Misspelling Variants of "contra"

ccontra7cnotra6conntra7conrta6contar6contrra7conttra7cotnra6
Misspelling Variants of "contra"

Frequency rank: #13,117 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "contra"?
"contra" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-A. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈkɔntʁa].
What does "contra" mean?
As a prep, "contra" means: gegen, wider
What words are commonly confused with "contra"?
"contra" is commonly confused with "cora", "costa", "country". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "contra"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "contra" is [ˈkɔntʁa]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "contra" come from?
"contra" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.