Which to use
“contra” is a preposition and “contrae” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #129
- “contra” frequency rank
- #22,625
- “contrae” frequency rank
- 22754
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contra | contrae |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Indica oposición. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contraer o de contraerse. |
Where the eye mixes contra and contrae
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contra runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against contrae's 7 (CVCCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contra vs contrae
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contra is [ˈkõn̪t̪ɾa] while contrae is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “contra” sits inside “contrae”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contra is recorded at frequency rank #129, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈkõn̪t̪ɾa]. contrae is at rank #22,625, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae].
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 22754, this pair ranks #248,880 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contra vs contrae
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contra": -. Private to "contrae": e.
"contra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "contrae" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contra" for "contrae" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contra" vs "contrae" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contrae" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,880 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contra" and "contrae" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrae vs costra". 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 #248,880 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.