Which to use
“contestan” and “contestaron” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,967
- “contestan” frequency rank
- #25,578
- “contestaron” frequency rank
- 45545
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contestan | contestaron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contestar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de contestar. |
Where the eye mixes contestan and contestaron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. contestan runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against contestaron's 11 (CVCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contestan vs contestaron
A purely visual mix-up. contestan ([kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ãn]) and contestaron ([kõn̪t̪esˈt̪aɾõn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contestan is recorded at frequency rank #19,967, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ãn]. contestaron is at rank #25,578, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪esˈt̪aɾõn].
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 45545, this pair ranks #130,854 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contestan vs contestaron
Shared letters: acenost. Private to "contestan": -. Private to "contestaron": r.
"contestan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "contestaron" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contestan ← ccontestan · cnotestan · conetstan · conntestan · contesatn · contesstan · contestann · contestna
- contestaron ← ccontestaron · cnotestaron · conetstaron · conntestaron · contesatron · contesstaron · contestaorn · contestarno
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contestan" for "contestaron" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contestan" vs "contestaron" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contestan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contestaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #130,854 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contestan" and "contestaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contactaron vs contestaron". 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 #130,854 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.