Which to use
“contentar” and “continuar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,600
- “contentar” frequency rank
- #2,073
- “continuar” frequency rank
- 40673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contentar | continuar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dar contento. | Permanecer, conservar la actitud, la situación, la acción. |
Where the eye mixes contentar and continuar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contentar with continuar
A purely visual mix-up. contentar ([kõn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and continuar ([kõn̪t̪iˈnwaɾ]) 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 40673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contentar is recorded at frequency rank #38,600, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]. continuar is at rank #2,073, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪iˈnwaɾ].
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 40673, this pair ranks #157,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contentar vs continuar
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contentar": e. Private to "continuar": iu.
"contentar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "continuar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contentar" and "continuar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contentar" or "continuar" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contentar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "continuar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #157,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contentar" and "continuar" 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 #157,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.