manosvsmensWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“manos” and “mens” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#502
“manos” frequency rank
#43,127
“mens” frequency rank
43629
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature manos mens
Definition Forma del plural de mano. Mente, alma, espíritu.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set manos and mens apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
manos
4 ch
mens

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. manos ([ˈmanos]) and mens (/ˈmens/) 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 43629, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

manos is recorded at frequency rank #502, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmanos]. mens is at rank #43,127, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmens/.

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 43629, this pair ranks #141,596 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of manos vs mens

Shared letters: mns. Private to "manos": ao. Private to "mens": e.

"manos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • manosamnos · mannos · manoss · maons · mmanos · mnaos
  • mensemns · menns · menss · mesn · mmens · mnes

Frequency comparison

manos#502
mens#43,127

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "manos" and "mens" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmanos] versus /ˈmens/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "manos" or "mens"?
"manos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #502 in our Spanish list, against #43,127 for "mens". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering manos vs mens

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “manos” 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