contacto vs contrato, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#4,803
“contacto” frequency rank: #1,356
“contrato” frequency rank: 6159
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	contacto	contrato
Definition	o fato de contactar	ato ou efeito de contratar

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch

contacto

8 ch

contrato

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contacto (/kõ.ˈtak.tu/) and contrato (/kõ.ˈtɾa.tu/) 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 6159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contacto is recorded at frequency rank #4,803, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.ˈtak.tu/. contrato is at rank #1,356, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kõ.ˈtɾa.tu/.

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 6159, this pair ranks #68,327 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of contacto vs contrato

Shared letters: acnot. Private to "contacto": -. Private to "contrato": r.

"contacto" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "contrato" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

contacto ← ccontacto · cnotacto · conatcto · conntacto · contaccto · contacot · contactto · contatco
contrato ← ccontrato · cnotrato · conntrato · conrtato · contarto · contraot · contratto · contrrato

Frequency comparison

contacto#4,803

contrato#1,356

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contacto" and "contrato" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "contacto" or "contrato"?

"contrato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,356 in our Portuguese list, against #4,803 for "contacto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contacto vs contrato

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