Which to use
“centro” is a noun and “contó” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #291
- “centro” frequency rank
- #2,598
- “contó” frequency rank
- 2889
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | centro | contó |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | El punto o línea que esta a mitad del camino entre dos extremos. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de contar. |
Where the eye mixes centro and contó
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses centro with contó
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: centro is [ˈsẽn̪t̪ɾo] while contó is [kõn̪ˈt̪o]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
centro is recorded at frequency rank #291, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsẽn̪t̪ɾo]. contó is at rank #2,598, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪o].
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 2889, this pair ranks #319,459 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of centro vs contó
Shared letters: cnot. Private to "centro": er. Private to "contó": ó.
"centro" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "contó" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- centro ← ccentro · cenntro · cenrto · centor · centrro · centtro · cetnro · cnetro
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "centro" for "contó" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "centro" or "contó" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "centro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #319,459 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "centro" and "contó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contó vs count". 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 #319,459 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.