Which to use
“continuar” is a verb and “contínuo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #722
- “continuar” frequency rank
- #6,396
- “contínuo” frequency rank
- 7118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | continuar | contínuo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dar seguimento ao que está começado | ininterrupto |
Letter map: continuar vs contínuo
Shared letters muted; letters that set continuar and contínuo apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Grammar separator: continuar vs contínuo
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: continuar is averb and contínuoanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
continuar is recorded at frequency rank #722, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.t͡ʃi.nuˈa(ʁ)/, [kõ.t͡ʃi.nʊˈa(h)]. contínuo is at rank #6,396, tagged as anadj.
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 7118, this pair ranks #67,104 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of continuar vs contínuo
Shared letters: cnotu. Private to "continuar": air. Private to "contínuo": í.
"continuar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "contínuo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- continuar ← ccontinuar · cnotinuar · conitnuar · conntinuar · continaur · continnuar · continuarr · continura
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "continuar" for "contínuo" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "continuar" or "contínuo" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pair "continuar" vs "contínuo" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "continuar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contínuo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,104 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "continuar" and "contínuo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contento vs contínuo". 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 #67,104 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.