Which to use
“contados” is a participle and “costados” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,419
- “contados” frequency rank
- #17,394
- “costados” frequency rank
- 30813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contados | costados |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de contado, participio de contar. | Forma del plural de costado. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contados and costados apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
contados and costados form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - n in “contados” becomes s in “costados” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contados is recorded at frequency rank #13,419, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪að̞os]. costados is at rank #17,394, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kosˈt̪að̞os].
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 30813, this pair ranks #210,180 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contados" and "costados" be used interchangeably?
Remembering contados vs costados
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “contados”; for a noun, it's “costados”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contados” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable