Which to use
“contar” is a verb and “conto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #740
- “contar” frequency rank
- #2,366
- “conto” frequency rank
- 3106
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contar | conto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | enumerar os elementos de uma série | narração fictícia breve, menor que uma novela, falada ou escrita |
Where the eye mixes contar and conto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contar with conto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contar is /kõ.ˈtaɾ/ while conto is /ˈkõ.tu/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3106, 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/. conto is at rank #2,366, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkõ.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 3106, this pair ranks #72,104 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contar vs conto
Shared letters: cnot. Private to "contar": ar. Private to "conto": -.
"contar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "conto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contar" for "conto" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "contar" or "conto" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "conto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,104 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contar" and "conto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conto 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 #72,104 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.