maníasvsmantisWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#44,849
“manías” frequency rank
#48,524
“mantis” frequency rank
93373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature manías mantis
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de manir. (orden Mantodea) Cualquiera de unas 2.200 especies de insectos neópteros, de distribución cosmopolita, caracterizados por un cuerpo elongado, especialmente el protórax, y dos patas delanteras modificadas, dotadas de garfios con los que sujetan a su presa. Son predadores voraces, empleando su coloración críptica para acechar; la posición del cuerpo y las patas delanteras al acecho recuerda a la adoptada para rezar en algunas religiones, lo que motiva su nombre vernáculo.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
manías
6 ch
mantis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: manías is [maˈnias] while mantis is [ˈmãn̪t̪is]. 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 93373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

manías is recorded at frequency rank #44,849, classified as averb, pronounced [maˈnias]. mantis is at rank #48,524, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmãn̪t̪is].

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 93373, this pair ranks #1,176 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of manías vs mantis

Shared letters: amns. Private to "manías": í. Private to "mantis": it.

"manías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "mantis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mantisamntis · manits · manntis · mantiss · mantsi · manttis · matnis · mmantis

Frequency comparison

manías#44,849
mantis#48,524

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "manías" and "mantis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "manías" is a verb and "mantis" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "manías" or "mantis"?
"manías" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,849 in our Spanish list, against #48,524 for "mantis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering manías vs mantis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “manías”; for a noun, it's “mantis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “manías” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list