Which to use
“contestar” and “contesten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,230
- “contestar” frequency rank
- #33,503
- “contesten” frequency rank
- 37733
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contestar | contesten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Responder por escrito, de palabra o por señas. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contestar. |
Where the eye mixes contestar and contesten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contestar and contesten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: contestar vs contesten
A purely visual mix-up. contestar ([kõn̪t̪esˈt̪aɾ]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contestar is recorded at frequency rank #4,230, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪esˈt̪aɾ]. 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 37733, this pair ranks #173,763 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contestar vs contesten
Shared letters: cenost. Private to "contestar": ar. Private to "contesten": -.
"contestar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "contesten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contestar" for "contesten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "contestar" or "contesten"?
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 "contestar" 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 #173,763 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contestar" 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 #173,763 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.