contienevscontinueConfusable pair

Which to use

“contiene” and “continue” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,016
“contiene” frequency rank
#34,521
“continue” frequency rank
36537
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contiene continue
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contener. Proceder con (hacer una actividad); prolongar (una actividad).

Where the eye mixes contiene and continue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
contiene
8 ch
continue

Look-alike desk: contiene vs continue

A purely visual mix-up. contiene ([kõn̪ˈt̪jene]) and continue (/kənˈtɪn.juː/) 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 36537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contiene is recorded at frequency rank #2,016, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪jene]. continue is at rank #34,521, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈtɪn.juː/.

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 36537, this pair ranks #180,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contiene vs continue

Shared letters: ceinot. Private to "contiene": -. Private to "continue": u.

"contiene" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "continue" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contieneccontiene · cnotiene · conitene · conntiene · conteine · contieen · contienne · continee
  • continueccontinue · cnotinue · conitnue · conntinue · contineu · continnue · contiune · contniue

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "contiene" for "continue" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪jene] versus /kənˈtɪn.juː/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contiene" or "continue"?
"contiene" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,016 in our Spanish list, against #34,521 for "continue". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contiene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "continue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #180,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contiene" and "continue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contiguo vs continue". 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 #180,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list