contração vs contrário, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“contração” is a noun and “contrário” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,812
“contração” frequency rank: #1,026
“contrário” frequency rank: 19838
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	contração	contrário
Definition	ato ou efeito de contrair	oposto

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contração and contrário apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

contração

9 ch

contrário

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contração is /kõ.tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while contrário is /kõ.ˈtɾa.ɾju/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contração is recorded at frequency rank #18,812, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. contrário is at rank #1,026, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kõ.ˈtɾa.ɾju/.

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 19838, this pair ranks #50,801 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contração vs contrário

Shared letters: cnort. Private to "contração": aãç. Private to "contrário": iá.

"contração" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV · "contrário" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

contração#18,812

contrário#1,026

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contração" and "contrário" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "contração" is a noun and "contrário" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "contração" or "contrário"?

"contrário" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,026 in our Portuguese list, against #18,812 for "contração". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering contração vs contrário

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “contração”; for an adjective, it's “contrário”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contração” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable