Which to use
“contenção” is a noun and “contentar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,239
- “contenção” frequency rank
- #19,385
- “contentar” frequency rank
- 30624
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contenção | contentar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de conter, de controlar ou de reprimir | tornar contente |
Where the eye mixes contenção and contentar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contenção (CVCCVCCVV) and contentar (CVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses contenção with contentar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contenção is /kõ.tẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while contentar is /kõ.tẽ.ˈtaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contenção is recorded at frequency rank #11,239, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.tẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. 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 30624, this pair ranks #37,677 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contenção vs contentar
Shared letters: cenot. Private to "contenção": ãç. Private to "contentar": ar.
"contenção" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV · "contentar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contentar ← ccontentar · cnotentar · conetntar · conntentar · contenatr · contenntar · contentarr · contentra
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contenção" and "contentar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "contenção" or "contentar"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contenção" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contentar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,677 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contenção" and "contentar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "concertar vs contentar". 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 #37,677 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.