contratar vs contrato, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“contratar” is a verb and “contrato” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,931
“contratar” frequency rank: #1,356
“contrato” frequency rank: 7287
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	contratar	contrato
Definition	combinar, ajustar	ato ou efeito de contratar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contratar and contrato apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

contratar

8 ch

contrato

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contratar is /kõ.tɾɐ.ˈtaɾ/ while contrato is /kõ.ˈtɾa.tu/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7287, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contratar is recorded at frequency rank #5,931, classified as averb, pronounced /kõ.tɾɐ.ˈtaɾ/. 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 7287, this pair ranks #66,877 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of contratar vs contrato

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contratar": -. Private to "contrato": -.

"contratar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "contrato" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

contratar ← ccontratar · cnotratar · conntratar · conrtatar · contartar · contraatr · contratarr · contratra
contrato ← ccontrato · cnotrato · conntrato · conrtato · contarto · contraot · contratto · contrrato

Frequency comparison

contratar#5,931

contrato#1,356

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contratar" and "contrato" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "contratar" is a verb and "contrato" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "contratar" or "contrato"?

"contrato" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,356 in our Portuguese list, against #5,931 for "contratar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contratar vs contrato

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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