contraseñavscontratenConfusable pair

Quick tell: contraseña is a noun, contraten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“contraseña” is a noun and “contraten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,125
“contraseña” frequency rank
#35,432
“contraten” frequency rank
42557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contraseña contraten
Definition Signo, especialmente verbal, que identifica a alguno como autorizado a acceder a ciertos lugares, recursos o servicios. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contratar.

Where the eye mixes contraseña and contraten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contraseña runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCVCV) against contraten's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
contraseña
9 ch
contraten

Look-alike desk: contraseña vs contraten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contraseña is [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈseɲa] while contraten is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ẽn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contraseña is recorded at frequency rank #7,125, classified as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈseɲa]. 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 42557, this pair ranks #147,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contraseña vs contraten

Shared letters: acenort. Private to "contraseña": . Private to "contraten": -.

"contraseña" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV  ·  "contraten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contratenccontraten · cnotraten · conntraten · conrtaten · contarten · contraetn · contratenn · contratne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contraseña" and "contraten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "contraseña" is a noun and "contraten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "contraseña" or "contraten"?
"contraseña" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,125 in our Spanish list, against #35,432 for "contraten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "contraseña" 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 #147,554 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contraseña" 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 #147,554 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