contestadovscontestasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,059
“contestado” frequency rank
#24,805
“contestas” frequency rank
39864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contestado contestas
Definition Participio de contestar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de contestar.

Where the eye mixes contestado and contestas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contestado runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCV) against contestas's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
contestado
9 ch
contestas

Why the eye confuses contestado with contestas

A purely visual mix-up. contestado ([kõn̪t̪esˈt̪að̞o]) and contestas ([kõn̪ˈt̪est̪as]) 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 39864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contestado is recorded at frequency rank #15,059, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪esˈt̪að̞o]. contestas is at rank #24,805, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪as].

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 39864, this pair ranks #162,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contestado vs contestas

Shared letters: acenost. Private to "contestado": d. Private to "contestas": -.

"contestado" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV  ·  "contestas" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contestadoccontestado · cnotestado · conetstado · conntestado · contesatdo · contesstado · contestaddo · contestaod
  • contestasccontestas · cnotestas · conetstas · conntestas · contesats · contesstas · contestass · contestsa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contestado" and "contestas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪t̪esˈt̪að̞o] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contestado" or "contestas"?
"contestado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,059 in our Spanish list, against #24,805 for "contestas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "contestado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contestas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #162,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contestado" and "contestas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contestas vs contestaste". 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 #162,257 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