contestaçãovscontrataçãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,245
“contestação” frequency rank
#6,522
“contratação” frequency rank
23767
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contestação contratação
Definition ato de contestar ação de contratar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contestação and contratação apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
contestação
11 ch
contratação

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contestação (/kõ.tɨʃ.tɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and contratação (/kõ.tɾa.taˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 23767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contestação is recorded at frequency rank #17,245, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.tɨʃ.tɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. contratação is at rank #6,522, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kõ.tɾa.taˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 23767, this pair ranks #45,988 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contestação vs contratação

Shared letters: acnotãç. Private to "contestação": es. Private to "contratação": r.

"contestação" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVV  ·  "contratação" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

contestação#17,245
contratação#6,522

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contestação" and "contratação" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kõ.tɨʃ.tɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /kõ.tɾa.taˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contestação" or "contratação"?
"contratação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,522 in our Portuguese list, against #17,245 for "contestação". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contestação vs contratação

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contestação” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list