Which to use
“contração” and “contrato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,812
- “contração” frequency rank
- #1,356
- “contrato” frequency rank
- 20168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contração | contrato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de contrair | ato ou efeito de contratar |
Where the eye mixes contração and contrato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contração runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVV) against contrato's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between contração and contrato
A purely visual mix-up. contração (/kõ.tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and contrato (/kõ.ˈtɾa.tu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20168, 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/. 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 20168, this pair ranks #50,421 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contração vs contrato
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contração": ãç. Private to "contrato": -.
"contração" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV · "contrato" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- contrato ← ccontrato · cnotrato · conntrato · conrtato · contarto · contraot · contratto · contrrato
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contração" and "contrato" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "contração" or "contrato"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contração" 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 #50,421 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contração" and "contrato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contração vs cotação". 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 #50,421 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.