confíovscontóWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,093
“confío” frequency rank
#2,598
“contó” frequency rank
10691
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature confío contó
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de confiar o de confiarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de contar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set confío and contó apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
confío
5 ch
contó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. confío ([kõɱˈfio]) and contó ([kõn̪ˈt̪o]) 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 10691, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

confío is recorded at frequency rank #8,093, classified as averb, pronounced [kõɱˈfio]. 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 10691, this pair ranks #297,725 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of confío vs contó

Shared letters: cno. Private to "confío": . Private to "contó": .

"confío" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "contó" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequency comparison

confío#8,093
contó#2,598

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "confío" and "contó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõɱˈfio] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "confío" or "contó"?
"contó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,598 in our Spanish list, against #8,093 for "confío". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering confío vs contó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “confío” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list