Which to use
“contestan” and “contestes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,967
- “contestan” frequency rank
- #26,377
- “contestes” frequency rank
- 46344
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contestan | contestes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contestar. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de contestar. |
Where the eye mixes contestan and contestes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contestan and contestes 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 contestes
A purely visual mix-up. contestan ([kõn̪ˈt̪est̪ãn]) and contestes ([kõn̪ˈt̪est̪es]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46344, 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]. contestes is at rank #26,377, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪est̪es].
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 46344, this pair ranks #126,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contestan vs contestes
Shared letters: cenost. Private to "contestan": a. Private to "contestes": -.
"contestan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "contestes" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contestan" and "contestes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contestan" or "contestes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contestan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contestes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #126,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contestan" and "contestes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contaste vs contestes". 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 #126,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.