cóndorvscontóTell them apart

Quick tell: cóndor is a noun, contó is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cóndor” is a noun and “contó” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,945
“cóndor” frequency rank
#2,598
“contó” frequency rank
23543
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cóndor contó
Definition (Vultur gryphus) Ave de rapiña de la familia de los buitres americanos que habita en la Cordillera de los Andes. Es de plumaje negro con plumas blancas alrededor del cuello y en las alas. Su cabeza está desnuda y posee una especie de cresta. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de contar.

Where the eye mixes cóndor and contó

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

6 ch
cóndor
5 ch
contó

Visual trap between cóndor and contó

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cóndor is [ˈkõn̪d̪oɾ] 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 23543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cóndor is recorded at frequency rank #20,945, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkõn̪d̪oɾ]. 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 23543, this pair ranks #245,313 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cóndor vs contó

Shared letters: cnoó. Private to "cóndor": dr. Private to "contó": t.

"cóndor" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "contó" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cóndor" and "contó" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cóndor" is a noun and "contó" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "cóndor" vs "contó" - which ranks higher?
"contó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,598 in our Spanish list, against #20,945 for "cóndor". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cóndor" 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 #245,313 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cóndor" and "contó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "colador vs cóndor". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #245,313 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