condenenvscontienenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“condenen” and “contienen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,065
“condenen” frequency rank
#5,479
“contienen” frequency rank
49544
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature condenen contienen
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de condenar o de condenarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de contener o de contenerse.

Where the eye mixes condenen and contienen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. condenen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against contienen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
condenen
9 ch
contienen

Why the eye confuses condenen with contienen

A purely visual mix-up. condenen ([kõn̪ˈd̪enẽn]) and contienen ([kõn̪ˈt̪jenẽn]) 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 49544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

condenen is recorded at frequency rank #44,065, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈd̪enẽn]. contienen is at rank #5,479, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪jenẽn].

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 49544, this pair ranks #108,207 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of condenen vs contienen

Shared letters: ceno. Private to "condenen": d. Private to "contienen": it.

"condenen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "contienen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • condenenccondenen · cnodenen · codnenen · conddenen · condeenn · condenenn · condennen · condneen
  • contienenccontienen · cnotienen · conitenen · conntienen · conteinen · contieenn · contienenn · contiennen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "condenen" and "contienen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪ˈd̪enẽn] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪jenẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "condenen" or "contienen"?
"contienen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,479 in our Spanish list, against #44,065 for "condenen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "condenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contienen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #108,207 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "condenen" and "contienen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "condenen vs convienen". 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 #108,207 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list