contemplavscontemplanConfusable pair

Which to use

“contempla” and “contemplan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,934
“contempla” frequency rank
#25,194
“contemplan” frequency rank
34128
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contempla contemplan
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contemplar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contemplar.

Where the eye mixes contempla and contemplan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
contempla
10 ch
contemplan

Why the eye confuses contempla with contemplan

A purely visual mix-up. contempla ([kõn̪ˈt̪ẽmpla]) and contemplan ([kõn̪ˈt̪ẽmplãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “contempla” sits inside “contemplan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contempla is recorded at frequency rank #8,934, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ẽmpla]. contemplan is at rank #25,194, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ẽmplãn].

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 34128, this pair ranks #193,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contempla vs contemplan

Shared letters: acelmnopt. Private to "contempla": -. Private to "contemplan": -.

"contempla" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV  ·  "contemplan" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contemplaccontempla · cnotempla · conetmpla · conntempla · contemlpa · contemmpla · contempal · contemplla
  • contemplanccontemplan · cnotemplan · conetmplan · conntemplan · contemlpan · contemmplan · contempaln · contemplann

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contempla" and "contemplan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪ẽmpla] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪ẽmplãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contempla" or "contemplan"?
"contempla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,934 in our Spanish list, against #25,194 for "contemplan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contempla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contemplan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #193,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contempla" and "contemplan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contemplan vs contemplo". 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 #193,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list