sostener

[sost̪eˈneɾ]

/[sost̪eˈneɾ]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“sostener” has 12 generated spelling variants in the Spanish index at frequency #6,593. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,593
frequency rank, Spanish
4,169
“S” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tener o mantener algo en la mano.

Corpus desk

Index ES-sostener · sostener · Spanish

sostener · rank #6,593 · 12 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,593
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,169
  • PHOTO-FINISH satélite

Nearest frequency peer: satélite (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pares de rango junto al imán ortográfico “sostener”

Misma franja de rareza: útil si un typo cae en un lema vecino

corpus weight

What this shows “sostener” está entre estos pares FrequencyWords; la profundidad de typo se mide aparte en el gráfico de distancia de edición.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sostener vs sostiene
75% similar
sostener vs sostenía
75% similar
sostener vs sostengo
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sostener
PropertyValue
Headwordsostener
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[sost̪eˈneɾ]
Letters8
Frequency rank#6,593
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frecuencia del imán ortográfico “sostener”

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.sostenercae aquí:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

El eje es logarítmico: cada tick marca unas diez veces menos frecuencia. En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “satélite” (#6,592), “sostuvo” (#6,594), “salio” (#6,591). Entre 4,169 lemas con “S”, “sostener” va en #6,593. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around sostener (IPA [sost̪eˈneɾ]), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,593 among 4,169 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for sostener, with forms such as "osstener", "sosetner", and "sosstener". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "sostiene", "sostenía", "sostengo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is sostener, spelled S-O-S-T-E-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tener o mantener algo en la mano.
  2. 2
    Mantener algo de tal forma que no se mueva.
  3. 3
    Mantener o continuar con una acción o situación.
  4. 4
    Apoyar, soportar una causa, una idea a alguien.
  5. 5
    Proporcionar a alguien los medios para satisfacer sus necesidades básicas.
  6. 6
    Fortalecer.
  7. 7
    Aseverar.
  8. 8
    Sufrir o tolerar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how sostener appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. se asombraban de ver a los chicos deslizarse por las barandas, sostener batallas de almohadas y jugar a toda clase de alegres juegos.

This word in other languages

hold(English)tenir(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • osstener
  • sosetner
  • sosstener
  • sosteenr
  • sostenerr
  • sostenner
  • sostenre
  • sostneer
  • sosttener
  • sotsener
  • ssostener
  • ssotener

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sostener - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

osstener2sosetner2sosstener1sosteenr2sostenerr1sostenner1sostenre2sostneer2
Edit distance from "sostener"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sostener"?
"sostener" is spelled S-O-S-T-E-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [sost̪eˈneɾ].
What does "sostener" mean?
As a verb, "sostener" means: Tener o mantener algo en la mano.
What words are commonly confused with "sostener"?
"sostener" is commonly confused with "sostiene", "sostenía", "sostengo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sostener"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sostener" is [sost̪eˈneɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sostener" come from?
"sostener" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sostener", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

satélite#6,592resuelto#6,586titulada#6,600vertical#6,609

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

nombrar12 variantsatracción12 variantsavanzado12 variantsinfección12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list