contraevscontrajoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,625
“contrae” frequency rank
#19,968
“contrajo” frequency rank
42593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contrae contrajo
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contraer o de contraerse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de contraer o de contraerse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contrae and contrajo apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
contrae
8 ch
contrajo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contrae ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae]) and contrajo ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaxo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contrae is recorded at frequency rank #22,625, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae]. contrajo is at rank #19,968, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaxo].

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 42593, this pair ranks #147,336 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contrae vs contrajo

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contrae": e. Private to "contrajo": j.

"contrae" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV  ·  "contrajo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contraeccontrae · cnotrae · conntrae · conrtae · contare · contrea · contrrae · conttrae
  • contrajoccontrajo · cnotrajo · conntrajo · conrtajo · contarjo · contrajjo · contraoj · contrjao

Frequency comparison

contrae#22,625
contrajo#19,968

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contrae" and "contrajo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaxo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contrae" or "contrajo"?
"contrajo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,968 in our Spanish list, against #22,625 for "contrae". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contrae vs contrajo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contrae” 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