Which to use
“detengan” and “detestan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,109
- “detengan” frequency rank
- #40,251
- “detestan” frequency rank
- 57360
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detengan | detestan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de detener o de detenerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de detestar. |
Where the eye mixes detengan and detestan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses detengan with detestan
A purely visual mix-up. detengan ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgãn]) and detestan ([d̪eˈt̪est̪ãn]) 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 57360, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detengan is recorded at frequency rank #17,109, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgãn]. detestan is at rank #40,251, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪est̪ãn].
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 57360, this pair ranks #70,796 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of detengan vs detestan
Shared letters: adent. Private to "detengan": g. Private to "detestan": s.
"detengan" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "detestan" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "detengan" and "detestan" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "detengan" or "detestan" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "detengan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detestan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,796 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detengan" and "detestan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detesta vs detestan". 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 #70,796 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.