Which to use
“detenía” and “detesta” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,955
- “detenía” frequency rank
- #30,868
- “detesta” frequency rank
- 73823
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detenía | detesta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de detener o de detenerse. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de detestar. |
Where the eye mixes detenía and detesta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. detenía (CVCVCVV) and detesta (CVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses detenía with detesta
A purely visual mix-up. detenía ([d̪et̪eˈnia]) and detesta ([d̪eˈt̪est̪a]) 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 73823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detenía is recorded at frequency rank #42,955, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪et̪eˈnia]. detesta is at rank #30,868, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪est̪a].
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 73823, this pair ranks #22,527 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of detenía vs detesta
Shared letters: adet. Private to "detenía": ní. Private to "detesta": s.
"detenía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "detesta" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- detesta ← ddetesta · deetsta · detesat · detessta · detestta · detetsa · detseta · dettesta
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "detenía" for "detesta" ever safe?
Which is more common, "detenía" or "detesta"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "detenía" and "detesta" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "detenía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detesta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,527 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detenía" and "detesta" 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 #22,527 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.