Which to use
“contraer” and “contraten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,328
- “contraer” frequency rank
- #35,432
- “contraten” frequency rank
- 50760
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contraer | contraten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer que se ocupe un menor volumen, un menor espacio, sin pérdida de masa, eventualmente aumentando la densidad. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contratar. |
Where the eye mixes contraer and contraten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contraer runs 8 letters (CVCCCVVC) against contraten's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between contraer and contraten
A purely visual mix-up. contraer ([kõn̪t̪ɾaˈeɾ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contraer is recorded at frequency rank #15,328, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈeɾ]. 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 50760, this pair ranks #101,486 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contraer vs contraten
Shared letters: acenort. Private to "contraer": -. Private to "contraten": -.
"contraer" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "contraten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contraer" and "contraten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contraer" or "contraten" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contraer" 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 #101,486 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contraer" 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 #101,486 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.