Which to use
“contratan” and “contratando” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,001
- “contratan” frequency rank
- #27,924
- “contratando” frequency rank
- 50925
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contratan | contratando |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contratar. | Gerundio de contratar. |
Where the eye mixes contratan and contratando
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. contratan runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVC) against contratando's 11 (CVCCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contratan vs contratando
A purely visual mix-up. contratan ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]) and contratando ([kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “contratan” sits inside “contratando”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50925, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contratan is recorded at frequency rank #23,001, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ãn]. contratando is at rank #27,924, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾaˈt̪ãn̪d̪o].
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 50925, this pair ranks #100,602 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contratan vs contratando
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contratan": -. Private to "contratando": d.
"contratan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "contratando" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- contratan ← ccontratan · cnotratan · conntratan · conrtatan · contartan · contraatn · contratann · contratna
- contratando ← ccontratando · cnotratando · conntratando · conrtatando · contartando · contraatndo · contratadno · contratanddo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contratan" for "contratando" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contratan" vs "contratando" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contratan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contratando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #100,602 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contratan" and "contratando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contactando vs contratando". 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 #100,602 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.