Which to use
“contrair” is a verb and “contrário” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,925
- “contrair” frequency rank
- #1,026
- “contrário” frequency rank
- 23951
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contrair | contrário |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | estreitar | oposto |
Where the eye mixes contrair and contrário
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. contrair runs 8 letters (CVCCCVVC) against contrário's 9 (CVCCCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contrair vs contrário
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contrair is /kõ.tɾɐ.ˈiɾ/ while contrário is /kõ.ˈtɾa.ɾju/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contrair is recorded at frequency rank #22,925, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.tɾɐ.ˈiɾ/. 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 23951, this pair ranks #45,776 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contrair vs contrário
Shared letters: cinort. Private to "contrair": a. Private to "contrário": á.
"contrair" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "contrário" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- contrair ← ccontrair · cnotrair · conntrair · conrtair · contarir · contrairr · contrari · contriar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contrair" for "contrário" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "contrair" or "contrário" 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 "contrair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contrário" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #45,776 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contrair" and "contrário" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contrair vs contrapor". 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 #45,776 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.