Which to use
“detente” and “detiene” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,728
- “detente” frequency rank
- #6,898
- “detiene” frequency rank
- 54626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detente | detiene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de detenerse (con el pronombre «te» enclítico). | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de detener. |
Where the eye mixes detente and detiene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses detente with detiene
A purely visual mix-up. detente ([d̪eˈt̪ẽn̪t̪e]) and detiene ([d̪eˈt̪jene]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detente is recorded at frequency rank #47,728, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ẽn̪t̪e]. detiene is at rank #6,898, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪jene].
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 54626, this pair ranks #82,484 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of detente vs detiene
Shared letters: dent. Private to "detente": -. Private to "detiene": i.
"detente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "detiene" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "detente" and "detiene" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "detente" vs "detiene" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "detente" and "detiene" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "detente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detiene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #82,484 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detente" and "detiene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjense vs detente". 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 #82,484 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.