contestanvscontestaronWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contestan and contestaron apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
contestan
11 ch
contestaron

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • contestanccontestan · cnotestan · conetstan · conntestan · contesatn · contesstan · contestann · contestna
  • contestaronccontestaron · cnotestaron · conetstaron · conntestaron · contesatron · contesstaron · contestaorn · contestarno

Frequency comparison

contestan#19,967
contestaron#25,578

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contestan" and "contestaron" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ãn] versus [kõn̪t̪esˈt̪aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contestan" or "contestaron"?
"contestan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,967 in our Spanish list, against #25,578 for "contestaron". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contestan vs contestaron

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contestan” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list