Which to use
“detenga” and “detengan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,589
- “detenga” frequency rank
- #17,109
- “detengan” frequency rank
- 32698
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detenga | detengan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de detener o de detenerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de detener o de detenerse. |
Where the eye mixes detenga and detengan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. detenga runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against detengan's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between detenga and detengan
A purely visual mix-up. detenga ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋga]) and detengan ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “detenga” sits inside “detengan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detenga is recorded at frequency rank #15,589, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ẽŋga]. detengan is at rank #17,109, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgãn].
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 32698, this pair ranks #200,649 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of detenga vs detengan
Shared letters: adegnt. Private to "detenga": -. Private to "detengan": -.
"detenga" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "detengan" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "detenga" for "detengan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "detenga" vs "detengan" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "detenga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detengan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #200,649 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detenga" and "detengan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detengan vs detengas". 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 #200,649 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.