Which to use
“contraten” is a verb and “contratos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,432
- “contraten” frequency rank
- #3,108
- “contratos” frequency rank
- 38540
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contraten | contratos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de contratar. | Forma del plural de contrato. |
Where the eye mixes contraten and contratos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contraten and contratos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: contraten vs contratos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contraten is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ẽn] while contratos is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contraten is recorded at frequency rank #35,432, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾat̪ẽn]. 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 38540, this pair ranks #169,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contraten vs contratos
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contraten": e. Private to "contratos": s.
"contraten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "contratos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contraten" and "contratos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contraten" or "contratos" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contraten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contratos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #169,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contraten" and "contratos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrastan vs contraten". 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 #169,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.