contactarvscontactaronWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,996
“contactar” frequency rank
#41,819
“contactaron” frequency rank
48815
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contactar contactaron
Definition Ponerse en contacto con alguien. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de contactar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contactar and contactaron apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
contactar
11 ch
contactaron

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contactar ([kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾ]) and contactaron ([kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾõn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “contactar” sits inside “contactaron”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48815, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contactar is recorded at frequency rank #6,996, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾ]. contactaron is at rank #41,819, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾõn].

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 48815, this pair ranks #112,372 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contactar vs contactaron

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contactar": -. Private to "contactaron": -.

"contactar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "contactaron" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contactarccontactar · cnotactar · conatctar · conntactar · contacatr · contacctar · contactarr · contactra
  • contactaronccontactaron · cnotactaron · conatctaron · conntactaron · contacatron · contacctaron · contactaorn · contactarno

Frequency comparison

contactar#6,996
contactaron#41,819

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contactar" and "contactaron" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾ] versus [kõn̪t̪akˈt̪aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contactar" or "contactaron"?
"contactar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,996 in our Spanish list, against #41,819 for "contactaron". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contactar vs contactaron

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 “contactar” 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