Which to use
“manos” and “mantis” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #502
- “manos” frequency rank
- #48,524
- “mantis” frequency rank
- 49026
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | manos | mantis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de mano. | (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 eye mixes manos and mantis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. manos runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against mantis's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses manos with mantis
A purely visual mix-up. manos ([ˈmanos]) and mantis ([ˈmãn̪t̪is]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
manos is recorded at frequency rank #502, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmanos]. 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 49026, this pair ranks #111,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of manos vs mantis
Shared letters: amns. Private to "manos": o. Private to "mantis": it.
"manos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mantis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "manos" for "mantis" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "manos" or "mantis" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "manos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mantis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #111,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "manos" and "mantis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantis vs montas". 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 #111,170 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.