dependavsdetengaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,745
“dependa” frequency rank
#15,589
“detenga” frequency rank
39334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dependa detenga
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de depender. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de detener o de detenerse.

Where the eye mixes dependa and detenga

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
dependa
7 ch
detenga

Why the eye confuses dependa with detenga

A purely visual mix-up. dependa ([d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪a]) and detenga ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋga]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dependa is recorded at frequency rank #23,745, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪a]. detenga is at rank #15,589, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ẽŋga].

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 39334, this pair ranks #165,097 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dependa vs detenga

Shared letters: aden. Private to "dependa": p. Private to "detenga": gt.

"dependa" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "detenga" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dependaddependa · deepnda · depedna · depenad · dependda · depennda · depneda · deppenda
  • detengaddetenga · deetnga · detegna · detenag · detengga · detennga · detnega · dettenga

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dependa" and "detenga" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪a] versus [d̪eˈt̪ẽŋga]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dependa" vs "detenga" - which ranks higher?
"detenga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,589 in our Spanish list, against #23,745 for "dependa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "dependa" and "detenga" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dependa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "detenga" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #165,097 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dependa" and "detenga" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dependa vs dependan". 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 #165,097 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