contribuirvscontribuyeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“contribuir” and “contribuye” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,588
“contribuir” frequency rank
#7,976
“contribuye” frequency rank
12564
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contribuir contribuye
Definition Dar la cuota correspondiente de una obligación tributaria. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contribuir.

Where the eye mixes contribuir and contribuye

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contribuir (CVCCCVCVVC) and contribuye (CVCCCVCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
contribuir
10 ch
contribuye

Look-alike desk: contribuir vs contribuye

A purely visual mix-up. contribuir ([kõn̪t̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾ]) and contribuye ([kõn̪t̪ɾiˈβ̞uʝe]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12564, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contribuir is recorded at frequency rank #4,588, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾ]. contribuye is at rank #7,976, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾiˈβ̞uʝe].

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 12564, this pair ranks #291,087 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of contribuir vs contribuye

Shared letters: bcinortu. Private to "contribuir": -. Private to "contribuye": ey.

"contribuir" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVVC  ·  "contribuye" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contribuir ← ccontribuir · cnotribuir · conntribuir · conrtibuir · contirbuir · contrbiuir · contribbuir · contribiur
  • contribuye ← ccontribuye · cnotribuye · conntribuye · conrtibuye · contirbuye · contrbiuye · contribbuye · contribuey

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "contribuir" for "contribuye" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪t̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾ] versus [kõn̪t̪ɾiˈβ̞uʝe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "contribuir" vs "contribuye" - which ranks higher?
"contribuir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,588 in our Spanish list, against #7,976 for "contribuye". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contribuir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contribuye" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #291,087 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contribuir" and "contribuye" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contribuya vs contribuye". 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 #291,087 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list