Which to use
“contratados” is a participle and “contratas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,420
- “contratados” frequency rank
- #38,025
- “contratas” frequency rank
- 51445
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contratados | contratas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de contratado, participio de contratar. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de contratar. |
Where the eye mixes contratados and contratas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. contratados runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCVCVC) against contratas's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses contratados with contratas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contratados is [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞os] while contratas is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 51445, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contratados is recorded at frequency rank #13,420, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪að̞os]. contratas is at rank #38,025, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪as].
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 51445, this pair ranks #97,851 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contratados vs contratas
Shared letters: acnorst. Private to "contratados": d. Private to "contratas": -.
"contratados" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVC · "contratas" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contratados ← ccontratados · cnotratados · conntratados · conrtatados · contartados · contraatdos · contrataddos · contratadoss
- contratas ← ccontratas · cnotratas · conntratas · conrtatas · contartas · contraats · contratass · contratsa
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contratados" and "contratas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "contratados" vs "contratas" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contratados" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contratas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #97,851 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contratados" and "contratas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contratamos vs contratas". 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 #97,851 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.