Which to use
“coentro” is a noun and “contra” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,366
- “coentro” frequency rank
- #160
- “contra” frequency rank
- 42526
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coentro | contra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | coriandro, planta usada como tempero, Coriandrum sativum | em oposição a |
Where the eye mixes coentro and contra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. coentro runs 7 letters (CVVCCCV) against contra's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses coentro with contra
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coentro is /ˈkwẽ.tɾu/ while contra is /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/. 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 (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42526, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coentro is recorded at frequency rank #42,366, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwẽ.tɾu/. contra is at rank #160, tagged as aprep, pronounced /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/.
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 42526, this pair ranks #23,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of coentro vs contra
Shared letters: cnort. Private to "coentro": e. Private to "contra": a.
"coentro" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV · "contra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coentro" for "contra" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "coentro" or "contra" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "coentro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coentro" and "contra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coentro vs contre". 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 #23,240 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.