Which to use
“contents” is an adjective and “contest” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,366
- “contents” frequency rank
- #39,722
- “contest” frequency rank
- 48088
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contents | contest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de content. | Concours. |
Where the eye mixes contents and contest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contents runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCC) against contest's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses contents with contest
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contents is \kɔ̃.tɑ̃\ while contest is \ˈkɒn.tɛst\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contents is recorded at frequency rank #8,366, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.tɑ̃\. contest is at rank #39,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈkɒn.tɛst\.
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 48088, this pair ranks #181,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contents vs contest
Shared letters: cenost. Private to "contents": -. Private to "contest": -.
"contents" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC · "contest" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contents" for "contest" ever safe?
Which is more common, "contents" or "contest"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contents" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contents" and "contest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contest vs context". 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 #181,751 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.