Which to use
“contrae” and “contraten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,625
- “contrae” frequency rank
- #35,432
- “contraten” frequency rank
- 58057
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contrae | contraten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contraer o de contraerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contratar. |
Where the eye mixes contrae and contraten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contrae runs 7 letters (CVCCCVV) against contraten's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses contrae with contraten
A purely visual mix-up. contrae ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾae]) and contraten ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ẽn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58057, 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]. contraten is at rank #35,432, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ẽn].
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 58057, this pair ranks #67,961 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of contrae vs contraten
Shared letters: acenort. Private to "contrae": -. Private to "contraten": -.
"contrae" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV · "contraten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contrae" for "contraten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contrae" vs "contraten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "contrae" and "contraten" 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 "contraten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,961 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contrae" and "contraten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrastan vs contraten". 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 #67,961 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.