Which to use
“contestan” and “contesten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,967
- “contestan” frequency rank
- #33,503
- “contesten” frequency rank
- 53470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contestan | contesten |
|---|---|---|
| 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 presente de subjuntivo de contestar. |
Where the eye mixes contestan and contesten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contestan and contesten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses contestan with contesten
A purely visual mix-up. contestan ([kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ãn]) and contesten ([kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ẽn]) 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 a single letter - a in “contestan” becomes e in “contesten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53470, 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]. 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 53470, this pair ranks #87,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contestan vs contesten
Shared letters: cenost. Private to "contestan": a. Private to "contesten": -.
"contestan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "contesten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contestan" for "contesten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contestan" vs "contesten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "contesten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contestan" 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 #87,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.