constar vs contestar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“constar” and “contestar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,409
“constar” frequency rank: #20,834
“contestar” frequency rank: 33243
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	constar	contestar
Definition	estar escrito, incluído ou mencionado	contradizer, refutar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set constar and contestar apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

constar

9 ch

contestar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. constar (/kõʃ.ˈtaɾ/) and contestar (/kõ.tɨʃ.ˈtaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33243, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

constar is recorded at frequency rank #12,409, classified as averb, pronounced /kõʃ.ˈtaɾ/. contestar is at rank #20,834, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.tɨʃ.ˈtaɾ/.

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 33243, this pair ranks #34,319 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of constar vs contestar

Shared letters: acnorst. Private to "constar": -. Private to "contestar": e.

"constar" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "contestar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

constar ← cconstar · cnostar · connstar · consatr · consstar · constarr · constra · consttar
contestar ← ccontestar · cnotestar · conetstar · conntestar · contesatr · contesstar · contestarr · contestra

Frequency comparison

constar#12,409

contestar#20,834

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "constar" and "contestar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/kõʃ.ˈtaɾ/ versus /kõ.tɨʃ.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "constar" or "contestar"?

"constar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,409 in our Portuguese list, against #20,834 for "contestar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering constar vs contestar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “constar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable