Which to use
“contaban” and “contratan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,119
- “contaban” frequency rank
- #23,001
- “contratan” frequency rank
- 35120
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contaban | contratan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contratar. |
Where the eye mixes contaban and contratan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contaban runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against contratan's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contaban vs contratan
A purely visual mix-up. contaban ([kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and contratan ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]) 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 35120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contaban is recorded at frequency rank #12,119, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. contratan is at rank #23,001, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ãn].
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 35120, this pair ranks #187,768 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contaban vs contratan
Shared letters: acnot. Private to "contaban": b. Private to "contratan": r.
"contaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "contratan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contaban" for "contratan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contaban" or "contratan" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "contaban" and "contratan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "contaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contratan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #187,768 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contaban" and "contratan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrastan vs contratan". 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 #187,768 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.