contactar vs contentar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#11,837
“contactar” frequency rank: #19,385
“contentar” frequency rank: 31222
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	contactar	contentar
Definition	ter contato:	tornar contente

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch

contactar

9 ch

contentar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contactar (/kõ.tɐˈk.taɾ/) and contentar (/kõ.tẽ.ˈtaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31222, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contactar is recorded at frequency rank #11,837, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.tɐˈk.taɾ/. contentar is at rank #19,385, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.tẽ.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 31222, this pair ranks #36,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contactar vs contentar

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contactar": -. Private to "contentar": e.

"contactar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "contentar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

contactar ← ccontactar · cnotactar · conatctar · conntactar · contacatr · contacctar · contactarr · contactra
contentar ← ccontentar · cnotentar · conetntar · conntentar · contenatr · contenntar · contentarr · contentra

Frequency comparison

contactar#11,837

contentar#19,385

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contactar" and "contentar" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "contactar" or "contentar"?

"contactar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,837 in our Portuguese list, against #19,385 for "contentar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contactar vs contentar

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 “contactar” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable