contiguovscontinuosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: contiguo is a adjective, continuos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“contiguo” is an adjective and “continuos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,962
“contiguo” frequency rank
#13,650
“continuos” frequency rank
49612
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contiguo continuos
Definition Que está tocando a otra cosa. Forma del plural de continuo.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
contiguo
9 ch
continuos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contiguo is [kõn̪ˈt̪iɣ̞wo] while continuos is [kõn̪ˈt̪inwos]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contiguo is recorded at frequency rank #35,962, classified as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪iɣ̞wo]. continuos is at rank #13,650, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪inwos].

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 49612, this pair ranks #107,845 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contiguo vs continuos

Shared letters: cinotu. Private to "contiguo": g. Private to "continuos": s.

"contiguo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "continuos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contiguoccontiguo · cnotiguo · conitguo · conntiguo · contgiuo · contigguo · contigou · contiugo
  • continuosccontinuos · cnotinuos · conitnuos · conntinuos · continnuos · continous · continuoss · continuso

Frequency comparison

contiguo#35,962
continuos#13,650

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contiguo" and "continuos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "contiguo" is an adjective and "continuos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "contiguo" or "continuos"?
"continuos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,650 in our Spanish list, against #35,962 for "contiguo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contiguo vs continuos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “contiguo”; for a noun, it's “continuos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contiguo” 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