contactavscontactarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,359
“contacta” frequency rank
#6,996
“contactar” frequency rank
26355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contacta contactar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contactar. Ponerse en contacto con alguien.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contacta and contactar apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
contacta
9 ch
contactar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contacta ([kõn̪ˈt̪akt̪a]) and contactar ([kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “contacta” sits inside “contactar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contacta is recorded at frequency rank #19,359, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪akt̪a]. contactar is at rank #6,996, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾ].

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 26355, this pair ranks #232,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contacta vs contactar

Shared letters: acnot. Private to "contacta": -. Private to "contactar": r.

"contacta" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "contactar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contactaccontacta · cnotacta · conatcta · conntacta · contacat · contaccta · contactta · contatca
  • contactarccontactar · cnotactar · conatctar · conntactar · contacatr · contacctar · contactarr · contactra

Frequency comparison

contacta#19,359
contactar#6,996

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contacta" and "contactar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪akt̪a] versus [kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contacta" or "contactar"?
"contactar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,996 in our Spanish list, against #19,359 for "contacta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contacta vs contactar

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 “contacta” 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