Which to use
“contra” is a preposition and “contrato” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #160
- “contra” frequency rank
- #1,356
- “contrato” frequency rank
- 1516
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contra | contrato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | em oposição a | ato ou efeito de contratar |
Where the eye mixes contra and contrato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contra with contrato
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contra is /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/ while contrato is /kõ.ˈtɾa.tu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “contra” sits inside “contrato”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contra is recorded at frequency rank #160, classified as aprep, pronounced /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/. contrato is at rank #1,356, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kõ.ˈtɾa.tu/.
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 1516, this pair ranks #74,040 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contra vs contrato
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contra": -. Private to "contrato": -.
"contra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "contrato" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contra" and "contrato" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "contra" or "contrato" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contrato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,040 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contra" and "contrato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contra vs contre". 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 #74,040 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.