Which to use
“manden” and “mantén” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,419
- “manden” frequency rank
- #23,856
- “mantén” frequency rank
- 36275
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | manden | mantén |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de mandar o de mandarse. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de mantener. |
Where the eye mixes manden and mantén
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. manden and mantén follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses manden with mantén
A purely visual mix-up. manden ([ˈmãn̪d̪ẽn]) and mantén ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽn]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36275, 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]. mantén is at rank #23,856, tagged as averb, pronounced [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽn].
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 36275, this pair ranks #181,485 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of manden vs mantén
Shared letters: amn. Private to "manden": de. Private to "mantén": té.
"manden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mantén" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- manden ← amnden · madnen · mandden · mandenn · mandne · manedn · mannden · mmanden
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "manden" and "mantén" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "manden" vs "mantén" - which ranks higher?
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 "manden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mantén" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,485 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "manden" and "mantén" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantén vs mantis". 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 #181,485 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.