contraevscontrataTell them apart

Which to use

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

#22,625
“contrae” frequency rank
#12,561
“contrata” frequency rank
35186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contrae contrata
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 presente de indicativo de contratar.

Where the eye mixes contrae and contrata

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contrae runs 7 letters (CVCCCVV) against contrata's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
contrae
8 ch
contrata

Look-alike desk: contrae vs contrata

A purely visual mix-up. contrae ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae]) and contrata ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪a]) 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 35186, 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]. contrata is at rank #12,561, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪a].

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 35186, this pair ranks #187,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contrae vs contrata

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contrae": e. Private to "contrata": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contrae ← ccontrae · cnotrae · conntrae · conrtae · contare · contrea · contrrae · conttrae
  • contrata ← ccontrata · cnotrata · conntrata · conrtata · contarta · contraat · contratta · contrrata

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contrae" and "contrata" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contrae" or "contrata" show up more?
"contrata" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,561 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.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contrae" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contrata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #187,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contrae" and "contrata" 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 #187,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list