mandenvsmantelWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: manden is a verb, mantel is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“manden” is a verb and “mantel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,419
“manden” frequency rank
#30,996
“mantel” frequency rank
43415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature manden mantel
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de mandar o de mandarse. Pieza de tela u otro material que se pone sobre la mesa y debajo de los platos y cubiertos.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set manden and mantel apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
manden
6 ch
mantel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: manden is [ˈmãn̪d̪ẽn] while mantel is [mãn̪ˈt̪el]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

manden is recorded at frequency rank #12,419, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmãn̪d̪ẽn]. mantel is at rank #30,996, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mãn̪ˈt̪el].

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 43415, this pair ranks #142,779 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of manden vs mantel

Shared letters: aemn. Private to "manden": d. Private to "mantel": lt.

"manden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mantel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mandenamnden · madnen · mandden · mandenn · mandne · manedn · mannden · mmanden
  • mantelamntel · manetl · manntel · mantell · mantle · manttel · matnel · mmantel

Frequency comparison

manden#12,419
mantel#30,996

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "manden" and "mantel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "manden" is a verb and "mantel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "manden" or "mantel"?
"manden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,419 in our Spanish list, against #30,996 for "mantel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering manden vs mantel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “manden”; for a noun, it's “mantel”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “manden” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list