Which to use
“contar” and “contrair” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #740
- “contar” frequency rank
- #22,925
- “contrair” frequency rank
- 23665
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contar | contrair |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | enumerar os elementos de uma série | estreitar |
Where the eye mixes contar and contrair
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against contrair's 8 (CVCCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contar vs contrair
A purely visual mix-up. contar (/kõ.ˈtaɾ/) and contrair (/kõ.tɾɐ.ˈiɾ/) 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 23665, 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/. contrair is at rank #22,925, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.tɾɐ.ˈiɾ/.
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 23665, this pair ranks #46,113 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contar vs contrair
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contar": -. Private to "contrair": i.
"contar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "contrair" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contar" and "contrair" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "contar" or "contrair"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "contar" and "contrair" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "contar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contrair" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,113 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contar" and "contrair" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrair vs contrapor". 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 #46,113 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.