Which to use
“contração” is a noun and “contratar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,812
- “contração” frequency rank
- #5,931
- “contratar” frequency rank
- 24743
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contração | contratar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de contrair | combinar, ajustar |
Where the eye mixes contração and contratar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contração (CVCCCVCVV) and contratar (CVCCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses contração with contratar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contração is /kõ.tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while contratar is /kõ.tɾɐ.ˈtaɾ/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24743, 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/. 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 24743, this pair ranks #44,784 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contração vs contratar
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contração": ãç. Private to "contratar": -.
"contração" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV · "contratar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contratar ← ccontratar · cnotratar · conntratar · conrtatar · contartar · contraatr · contratarr · contratra
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contração" and "contratar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "contração" or "contratar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "contração" and "contratar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "contração" 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 #44,784 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contração" and "contratar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrapor vs contratar". 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 #44,784 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.