Which to use
“Contesta” is a name and “contesten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,937
- “Contesta” frequency rank
- #33,503
- “contesten” frequency rank
- 39440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Contesta | contesten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ciudad de Italia, provincia de Palermo, cerca de Corleone. Era una antigua colonia albanesa de los montes de Corleone. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contestar. |
Where the eye mixes Contesta and contesten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Contesta runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against contesten's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Contesta with contesten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Contesta is [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪a] while contesten is [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ẽn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Contesta is recorded at frequency rank #5,937, classified as aname, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪a]. contesten is at rank #33,503, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ẽn].
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 39440, this pair ranks #164,471 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Contesta vs contesten
Shared letters: cenost. Private to "Contesta": a. Private to "contesten": -.
"Contesta" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "contesten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Contesta" and "contesten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "Contesta" or "contesten" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Contesta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contesten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #164,471 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Contesta" and "contesten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conecten vs contesten". 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 #164,471 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.