Which to use
“contado” is an adjective and “contaron” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,873
- “contado” frequency rank
- #11,013
- “contaron” frequency rank
- 15886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contado | contaron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Raro, escaso. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de contar. |
Where the eye mixes contado and contaron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between contado and contaron
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contado is [kõn̪ˈt̪að̞o] while contaron is [kõn̪ˈt̪aɾõn]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contado is recorded at frequency rank #4,873, classified as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪að̞o]. contaron is at rank #11,013, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aɾõn].
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 15886, this pair ranks #278,391 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contado vs contaron
Shared letters: acnot. Private to "contado": d. Private to "contaron": r.
"contado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "contaron" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contado" and "contaron" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contado" or "contaron" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,391 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contado" and "contaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contaron vs copiaron". 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 #278,391 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.