contentarvscontratarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,385
“contentar” frequency rank
#5,931
“contratar” frequency rank
25316
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contentar contratar
Definition tornar contente combinar, ajustar

Where the eye mixes contentar and contratar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
contentar
9 ch
contratar

Why the eye confuses contentar with contratar

A purely visual mix-up. contentar (/kõ.tẽ.ˈtaɾ/) and contratar (/kõ.tɾɐ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 25316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contentar is recorded at frequency rank #19,385, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.tẽ.ˈtaɾ/. contratar is at rank #5,931, tagged as averb, pronounced /kõ.tɾɐ.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 25316, this pair ranks #44,028 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contentar vs contratar

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contentar": e. Private to "contratar": -.

"contentar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "contratar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contentarccontentar · cnotentar · conetntar · conntentar · contenatr · contenntar · contentarr · contentra
  • contratarccontratar · cnotratar · conntratar · conrtatar · contartar · contraatr · contratarr · contratra

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contentar" and "contratar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kõ.tẽ.ˈtaɾ/ versus /kõ.tɾɐ.ˈtaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contentar" or "contratar"?
"contratar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,931 in our Portuguese list, against #19,385 for "contentar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "contentar" and "contratar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "contentar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contratar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #44,028 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contentar" and "contratar" 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 #44,028 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list