Which to use
“detenida” is a participle and “detenido” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,583
- “detenida” frequency rank
- #3,243
- “detenido” frequency rank
- 15826
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detenida | detenido |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de detenido, participio de detener o de detenerse. | Que ha dejado de moverse. |
Where the eye mixes detenida and detenido
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. detenida and detenido follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between detenida and detenido
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: detenida is [d̪et̪eˈnið̞a] while detenido is [d̪et̪eˈnið̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “detenida” becomes o in “detenido”, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detenida is recorded at frequency rank #12,583, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [d̪et̪eˈnið̞a]. detenido is at rank #3,243, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪et̪eˈnið̞o].
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 15826, this pair ranks #278,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of detenida vs detenido
Shared letters: deint. Private to "detenida": a. Private to "detenido": o.
"detenida" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "detenido" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "detenida" and "detenido" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "detenida" or "detenido"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "detenida" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detenido" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detenida" and "detenido" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detenida vs devenido". 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 #278,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.