Which to use
“detenga” and “detengo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,589
- “detenga” frequency rank
- #40,767
- “detengo” frequency rank
- 56356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detenga | detengo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de detener o de detenerse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de detener. |
Where the eye mixes detenga and detengo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. detenga and detengo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between detenga and detengo
A purely visual mix-up. detenga ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋga]) and detengo ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgo]) 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 a single letter - a in “detenga” becomes o in “detengo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56356, 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]. detengo is at rank #40,767, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgo].
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 56356, this pair ranks #74,958 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of detenga vs detengo
Shared letters: degnt. Private to "detenga": a. Private to "detengo": o.
"detenga" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "detengo" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "detenga" for "detengo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "detenga" vs "detengo" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "detenga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detengo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,958 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detenga" and "detengo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detengas vs detengo". 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 #74,958 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.