Which to use
“contar” is a verb and “contra” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,192
- “contar” frequency rank
- #129
- “contra” frequency rank
- 1321
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contar | contra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enumerar un grupo de cosas pertenecientes a la misma clase. | Indica oposición. |
Where the eye mixes contar and contra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contar with contra
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contar is [kõn̪ˈt̪aɾ] while contra is [ˈkõn̪t̪ɾa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (ar ↔ ra) - a transposition the eye reads straight past, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contar is recorded at frequency rank #1,192, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aɾ]. contra is at rank #129, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈkõn̪t̪ɾa].
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 1321, this pair ranks #322,247 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contar vs contra
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contar": -. Private to "contra": -.
"contar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "contra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contar" for "contra" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contar" vs "contra" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #322,247 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contar" and "contra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clonar vs contar". 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 #322,247 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.