contemplabavscontemplanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#31,722
“contemplaba” frequency rank
#25,194
“contemplan” frequency rank
56916
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contemplaba contemplan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contemplar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contemplar.

Where the eye mixes contemplaba and contemplan

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

11 ch
contemplaba
10 ch
contemplan

Visual trap between contemplaba and contemplan

A purely visual mix-up. contemplaba ([kõn̪t̪ẽmˈplaβ̞a]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56916, 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]. 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 56916, this pair ranks #72,594 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of contemplaba vs contemplan

Shared letters: acelmnopt. Private to "contemplaba": b. Private to "contemplan": -.

"contemplaba" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCV  ·  "contemplan" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contemplabaccontemplaba · cnotemplaba · conetmplaba · conntemplaba · contemlpaba · contemmplaba · contempalba · contemplaab
  • contemplanccontemplan · cnotemplan · conetmplan · conntemplan · contemlpan · contemmplan · contempaln · contemplann

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contemplaba" and "contemplan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪t̪ẽmˈplaβ̞a] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪ẽmplãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contemplaba" or "contemplan"?
"contemplan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,194 in our Spanish list, against #31,722 for "contemplaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "contemplaba" and "contemplan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contemplaba" 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 #72,594 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contemplaba" and "contemplan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contemplaba vs contempladas". 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 #72,594 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