conorvscontraWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: conor is a verb, contra is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“conor” is a verb and “contra” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,822
“conor” frequency rank
#160
“contra” frequency rank
36982
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature conor contra
Definition eu tento em oposição a

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set conor and contra apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
conor
6 ch
contra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: conor is /ˈkoː.nor/ 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 (verb vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

conor is recorded at frequency rank #36,822, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkoː.nor/. 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 36982, this pair ranks #29,729 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of conor vs contra

Shared letters: cnor. Private to "conor": -. Private to "contra": at.

"conor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "contra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • conorcconor · cnoor · connor · conorr · conro · coonr · ocnor
  • contraccontra · cnotra · conntra · conrta · contrra · conttra · cotnra · ocntra

Frequency comparison

conor#36,822
contra#160

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "conor" and "contra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "conor" is a verb and "contra" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "conor" or "contra"?
"contra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #160 in our Portuguese list, against #36,822 for "conor". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering conor vs contra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “conor”; for a preposition, it's “contra”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “conor” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list