contrajovscontroloWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,968
“contrajo” frequency rank
#36,491
“controlo” frequency rank
56459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes contrajo and controlo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
contrajo
8 ch
controlo

Visual trap between contrajo and controlo

A purely visual mix-up. contrajo ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaxo]) and controlo ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contrajo is recorded at frequency rank #19,968, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaxo]. controlo is at rank #36,491, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolo].

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 56459, this pair ranks #74,529 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of contrajo vs controlo

Shared letters: cnort. Private to "contrajo": aj. Private to "controlo": l.

"contrajo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "controlo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contrajoccontrajo · cnotrajo · conntrajo · conrtajo · contarjo · contrajjo · contraoj · contrjao
  • controloccontrolo · cnotrolo · conntrolo · conrtolo · contorlo · contrloo · controllo · controol

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contrajo" and "controlo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaxo] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contrajo" or "controlo"?
"contrajo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,968 in our Spanish list, against #36,491 for "controlo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contrajo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "controlo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #74,529 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contrajo" and "controlo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "controlen vs controlo". 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 #74,529 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