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 eye mixes contrae and contrajo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contrae runs 7 letters (CVCCCVV) against contrajo's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses contrae with contrajo
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contrae" for "contrajo" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contrae" or "contrajo" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "contrae" and "contrajo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "contrae" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contrajo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,336 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contrae" and "contrajo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrabajo vs contrajo". 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 #147,336 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.