Which to use
“contar” and “conter” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #740
- “contar” frequency rank
- #4,457
- “conter” frequency rank
- 5197
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contar | conter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | enumerar os elementos de uma série | encerrar |
Where the eye mixes contar and conter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: contar vs conter
A purely visual mix-up. contar (/kõ.ˈtaɾ/) and conter (/kõ.ˈteɾ/) 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 a single letter - a in “contar” becomes e in “conter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contar is recorded at frequency rank #740, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.ˈtaɾ/. conter is at rank #4,457, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.ˈteɾ/.
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 5197, this pair ranks #69,476 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contar vs conter
Shared letters: cnort. Private to "contar": a. Private to "conter": e.
"contar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "conter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contar" and "conter" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "contar" or "conter"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "conter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,476 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contar" and "conter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conter 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 #69,476 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.