condenevscontenerWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“condene” and “contener” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,956
“condene” frequency rank
#5,936
“contener” frequency rank
41892
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature condene contener
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de condenar o de condenarse. Llevar en su interior, tener dentro de sí.

Where the eye mixes condene and contener

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. condene runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against contener's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
condene
8 ch
contener

Look-alike desk: condene vs contener

A purely visual mix-up. condene ([kõn̪ˈd̪ene]) and contener ([kõn̪t̪eˈneɾ]) 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 41892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

condene is recorded at frequency rank #35,956, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈd̪ene]. contener is at rank #5,936, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪eˈneɾ].

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 41892, this pair ranks #151,205 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of condene vs contener

Shared letters: ceno. Private to "condene": d. Private to "contener": rt.

"condene" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "contener" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • condene ← ccondene · cnodene · codnene · conddene · condeen · condenne · condnee · conedne
  • contener ← ccontener · cnotener · conetner · conntener · conteenr · contenerr · contenner · contenre

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "condene" and "contener" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈd̪ene] versus [kõn̪t̪eˈneɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "condene" or "contener"?
"contener" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,936 in our Spanish list, against #35,956 for "condene". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "condene" and "contener" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "condene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contener" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #151,205 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "condene" and "contener" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "condene vs condenen". 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 #151,205 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list