Which to use
“detenidas” is a participle and “detenido” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,088
- “detenidas” frequency rank
- #3,243
- “detenido” frequency rank
- 22331
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detenidas | detenido |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino plural de detenido, participio de detener o de detenerse. | Que ha dejado de moverse. |
Where the eye mixes detenidas and detenido
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. detenidas runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against detenido's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between detenidas and detenido
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: detenidas is [d̪et̪eˈnið̞as] while detenido is [d̪et̪eˈnið̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22331, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detenidas is recorded at frequency rank #19,088, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [d̪et̪eˈnið̞as]. 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 22331, this pair ranks #250,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of detenidas vs detenido
Shared letters: deint. Private to "detenidas": as. Private to "detenido": o.
"detenidas" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "detenido" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "detenidas" for "detenido" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "detenidas" or "detenido" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "detenidas" and "detenido" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "detenidas" 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 #250,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detenidas" and "detenido" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detengas vs detenidas". 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 #250,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.