contemplabavscontempladaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: contemplaba is a verb, contemplada is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“contemplaba” is a verb and “contemplada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,722
“contemplaba” frequency rank
#38,599
“contemplada” frequency rank
70321
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contemplaba contemplada
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contemplar. Forma del femenino de contemplado, participio de contemplar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contemplaba and contemplada apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
contemplaba
11 ch
contemplada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

contemplaba and contemplada 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 - b in “contemplaba” becomes d in “contemplada” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contemplaba is recorded at frequency rank #31,722, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ẽmˈplaβ̞a]. contemplada is at rank #38,599, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ẽmˈplað̞a].

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 70321, this pair ranks #29,987 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

contemplaba#31,722
contemplada#38,599

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contemplaba" and "contemplada" be used interchangeably?
No, "contemplaba" and "contemplada" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering contemplaba vs contemplada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “contemplaba”; for a participle, it's “contemplada”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contemplaba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list