Which to use
“mañas” is a noun and “maya” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,436
- “mañas” frequency rank
- #5,410
- “maya” frequency rank
- 36846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mañas | maya |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de maña. | Se dice de la persona perteneciente a la cultura mesoamericana precolombina que habitó el sureste de México y Centroamérica entre los siglos IV y X a.C., o descendiente de aquella gente. |
Where the eye mixes mañas and maya
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mañas with maya
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mañas is [ˈmaɲas] while maya is [ˈmaʝa]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mañas is recorded at frequency rank #31,436, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɲas]. maya is at rank #5,410, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmaʝa].
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 36846, this pair ranks #178,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mañas vs maya
Shared letters: am. Private to "mañas": sñ. Private to "maya": y.
"mañas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "maya" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- maya ← amya · maay · mayya · mmaya · myaa
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mañas" and "maya" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mañas" or "maya"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mañas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maya" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #178,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mañas" and "maya" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "makes vs mañas". 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 #178,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.