contiguavscontinuarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: contigua is a adjective, continuar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“contigua” is an adjective and “continuar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,504
“contigua” frequency rank
#2,073
“continuar” frequency rank
35577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contigua continuar
Definition Forma del femenino singular de contiguo. Permanecer, conservar la actitud, la situación, la acción.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contigua and continuar apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
contigua
9 ch
continuar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contigua is [kõn̪ˈt̪iɣ̞wa] while continuar is [kõn̪t̪iˈnwaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contigua is recorded at frequency rank #33,504, classified as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪iɣ̞wa]. continuar is at rank #2,073, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪iˈnwaɾ].

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 35577, this pair ranks #185,342 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contigua vs continuar

Shared letters: acinotu. Private to "contigua": g. Private to "continuar": r.

"contigua" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "continuar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contiguaccontigua · cnotigua · conitgua · conntigua · contgiua · contigau · contiggua · contiuga
  • continuarccontinuar · cnotinuar · conitnuar · conntinuar · continaur · continnuar · continuarr · continura

Frequency comparison

contigua#33,504
continuar#2,073

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contigua" and "continuar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "contigua" is an adjective and "continuar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "contigua" or "continuar"?
"continuar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,073 in our Spanish list, against #33,504 for "contigua". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering contigua vs continuar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “contigua”; for a verb, it's “continuar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contigua” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list