Which to use
“contagio” is a noun and “contagioso” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,060
- “contagio” frequency rank
- #29,994
- “contagioso” frequency rank
- 46054
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contagio | contagioso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de contagiar (transmitir un agente patógeno). | Se dice de una enfermedad, como un virus o una infección, que se puede contagiar, comunicar, pegar o transmitir de un ser vivo a otro. |
Where the eye mixes contagio and contagioso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contagio runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVV) against contagioso's 10 (CVCCVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contagio vs contagioso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contagio is [kõn̪ˈt̪axjo] while contagioso is [kõn̪t̪aˈxjoso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “contagio” sits inside “contagioso”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contagio is recorded at frequency rank #16,060, classified as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪axjo]. contagioso is at rank #29,994, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪t̪aˈxjoso].
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 46054, this pair ranks #127,939 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contagio vs contagioso
Shared letters: acginot. Private to "contagio": -. Private to "contagioso": s.
"contagio" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV · "contagioso" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- contagio ← ccontagio · cnotagio · conatgio · conntagio · contaggio · contagoi · contaigo · contgaio
- contagioso ← ccontagioso · cnotagioso · conatgioso · conntagioso · contaggioso · contagioos · contagiosso · contagisoo
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contagio" and "contagioso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "contagio" vs "contagioso" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contagio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contagioso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,939 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contagio" and "contagioso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contagiado vs contagioso". 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 #127,939 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.