Which to use
“contenían” and “contentar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,965
- “contenían” frequency rank
- #38,600
- “contentar” frequency rank
- 58565
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contenían | contentar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contener o de contenerse. | Dar contento. |
Where the eye mixes contenían and contentar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contenían (CVCCVCVVC) and contentar (CVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses contenían with contentar
A purely visual mix-up. contenían ([kõn̪t̪eˈniãn]) and contentar ([kõn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contenían is recorded at frequency rank #19,965, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪eˈniãn]. contentar is at rank #38,600, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ].
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 58565, this pair ranks #66,002 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of contenían vs contentar
Shared letters: acenot. Private to "contenían": í. Private to "contentar": r.
"contenían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "contentar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contentar ← ccontentar · cnotentar · conetntar · conntentar · contenatr · contenntar · contentarr · contentra
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contenían" and "contentar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contenían" or "contentar" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contenían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contentar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,002 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contenían" and "contentar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "concertar vs contentar". 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 #66,002 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.