Which to use
“detengo” and “detenía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,767
- “detengo” frequency rank
- #42,955
- “detenía” frequency rank
- 83722
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detengo | detenía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de detener. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de detener o de detenerse. |
Where the eye mixes detengo and detenía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. detengo (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: detengo vs detenía
A purely visual mix-up. detengo ([d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgo]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83722, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detengo is recorded at frequency rank #40,767, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ẽŋgo]. 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 83722, this pair ranks #7,809 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of detengo vs detenía
Shared letters: dent. Private to "detengo": go. Private to "detenía": aí.
"detengo" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "detenía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- detengo ← ddetengo · deetngo · detegno · detenggo · detenngo · detenog · detnego · dettengo
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "detengo" and "detenía" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "detengo" or "detenía"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "detengo" and "detenía" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "detengo" 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 #7,809 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detengo" 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 #7,809 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.