contratadavscontratarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: contratada is a participle, contratar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“contratada” is a participle and “contratar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,071
“contratada” frequency rank
#5,189
“contratar” frequency rank
24260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contratada contratar
Definition Forma del femenino de contratado, participio de contratar. Realizar un acuerdo, pacto o contrato.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contratada and contratar apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
contratada
9 ch
contratar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contratada is [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞a] while contratar is [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪aɾ]. 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 (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contratada is recorded at frequency rank #19,071, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞a]. contratar is at rank #5,189, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪aɾ].

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 24260, this pair ranks #241,986 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contratada vs contratar

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contratada": d. Private to "contratar": -.

"contratada" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV  ·  "contratar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contratadaccontratada · cnotratada · conntratada · conrtatada · contartada · contraatda · contrataad · contratadda
  • contratarccontratar · cnotratar · conntratar · conrtatar · contartar · contraatr · contratarr · contratra

Frequency comparison

contratada#19,071
contratar#5,189

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contratada" and "contratar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "contratada" is a participle and "contratar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "contratada" or "contratar"?
"contratar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,189 in our Spanish list, against #19,071 for "contratada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contratada vs contratar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “contratada”; for a verb, it's “contratar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contratada” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list