contra
/ˈkõ.tɾɐ/
The verdict
“contra” is in the everyday core of Portuguese, ranked #160 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a preposition.
- #160
- frequency rank, Portuguese
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - em oposição a
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | contra |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Part of speech | Preposition |
| IPA | /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #160 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “contra” sits in Portuguese frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Portuguese entry for contra is 6 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/. Corpus data places it at rank #160 in overall Portuguese word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for contra, with forms such as "ccontra", "cnotra", and "conntra". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cota", "costa", "corta", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is contra, spelled C-O-N-T-R-A.
Definition
- 1em oposição a
- 2em troca de
- 3em direção a
- 4defronte de
- 5junto de
- 6de encontro
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccontra,cnotra,conntra,conrta,contrra,conttra,cotnra,ocntra
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contra - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “contra”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Portuguese spelling is C-O-N-T-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cota” - see the side-by-side comparison. contra vs cota
- Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.