Which to use
“contrata” is a verb and “contratada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,561
- “contrata” frequency rank
- #19,071
- “contratada” frequency rank
- 31632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contrata | contratada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contratar. | Forma del femenino de contratado, participio de contratar. |
Where the eye mixes contrata and contratada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contrata runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against contratada's 10 (CVCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contrata vs contratada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contrata is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪a] while contratada is [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “contrata” sits inside “contratada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contrata is recorded at frequency rank #12,561, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪a]. contratada is at rank #19,071, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞a].
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 31632, this pair ranks #206,085 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contrata vs contratada
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contrata": -. Private to "contratada": d.
"contrata" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV · "contratada" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- contrata ← ccontrata · cnotrata · conntrata · conrtata · contarta · contraat · contratta · contrrata
- contratada ← ccontratada · cnotratada · conntratada · conrtatada · contartada · contraatda · contrataad · contratadda
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contrata" for "contratada" ever safe?
Which is more common, "contrata" or "contratada"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contrata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contratada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,085 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contrata" and "contratada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contratada vs contratadas". 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 #206,085 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.