Which to use
“detenga” and “detenía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,589
- “detenga” frequency rank
- #42,955
- “detenía” frequency rank
- 58544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detenga | detenía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de detener o de detenerse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de detener o de detenerse. |
Where the eye mixes detenga and detenía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. detenga (CVCVCCV) and detenía (CVCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: detenga vs detenía
A purely visual mix-up. detenga ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋga]) and detenía ([d̪et̪eˈnia]) 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 - g in “detenga” becomes í in “detenía”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58544, 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]. detenía is at rank #42,955, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪et̪eˈnia].
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 58544, this pair ranks #66,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of detenga vs detenía
Shared letters: adent. Private to "detenga": g. Private to "detenía": í.
"detenga" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "detenía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- detenga ← ddetenga · deetnga · detegna · detenag · detengga · detennga · detnega · dettenga
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "detenga" and "detenía" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "detenga" vs "detenía" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "detenía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detenga" and "detenía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detengas vs detenía". 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 #66,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.