contratas vs contratos, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#38,025
“contratas” frequency rank: #3,108
“contratos” frequency rank: 41133
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	contratas	contratos
Definition	Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de contratar.	Forma del plural de contrato.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch

contratas

9 ch

contratos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contratas is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪as] while contratos is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “contratas” becomes o in “contratos”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41133, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contratas is recorded at frequency rank #38,025, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪as]. contratos is at rank #3,108, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os].

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 41133, this pair ranks #155,354 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contratas vs contratos

Shared letters: acnorst. Private to "contratas": -. Private to "contratos": -.

"contratas" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "contratos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

contratas ← ccontratas · cnotratas · conntratas · conrtatas · contartas · contraats · contratass · contratsa
contratos ← ccontratos · cnotratos · conntratos · conrtatos · contartos · contraots · contratoss · contratso

Frequency comparison

contratas#38,025

contratos#3,108

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contratas" and "contratos" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "contratas" is a verb and "contratos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "contratas" or "contratos"?

"contratos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,108 in our Spanish list, against #38,025 for "contratas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering contratas vs contratos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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