Which to use
“contacto” is a noun and “contado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,191
- “contacto” frequency rank
- #4,873
- “contado” frequency rank
- 6064
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contacto | contado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de tocar o de tocarse. | Raro, escaso. |
Where the eye mixes contacto and contado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: contacto vs contado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contacto is [kõn̪ˈt̪akt̪o] while contado is [kõn̪ˈt̪að̞o]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contacto is recorded at frequency rank #1,191, classified as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪akt̪o]. contado is at rank #4,873, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪að̞o].
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 6064, this pair ranks #311,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contacto vs contado
Shared letters: acnot. Private to "contacto": -. Private to "contado": d.
"contacto" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "contado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contacto" and "contado" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "contacto" or "contado"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contacto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #311,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contacto" and "contado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contado vs cortador". 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 #311,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.