contrariosvscontratosConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,210
“contrarios” frequency rank
#3,108
“contratos” frequency rank
16318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contrarios contratos
Definition Forma del plural de contrario. Forma del plural de contrato.

Where the eye mixes contrarios and contratos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contrarios runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCVVC) against contratos's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
contrarios
9 ch
contratos

Look-alike desk: contrarios vs contratos

A purely visual mix-up. contrarios ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaɾjos]) and contratos ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os]) 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 16318, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contrarios is recorded at frequency rank #13,210, classified as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaɾjos]. contratos is at rank #3,108, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os].

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 16318, this pair ranks #276,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of contrarios vs contratos

Shared letters: acnorst. Private to "contrarios": i. Private to "contratos": -.

"contrarios" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVVC  ·  "contratos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contrarios ← ccontrarios · cnotrarios · conntrarios · conrtarios · contarrios · contrairos · contrarioss · contrariso
  • contratos ← ccontratos · cnotratos · conntratos · conrtatos · contartos · contraots · contratoss · contratso

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "contrarios" for "contratos" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾaɾjos] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "contrarios" vs "contratos" - which ranks higher?
"contratos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,108 in our Spanish list, against #13,210 for "contrarios". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "contrarios" and "contratos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contrarios" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contratos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #276,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contrarios" and "contratos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contratamos vs contratos". 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 #276,670 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