Which to use
“mantén” and “mantenía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,856
- “mantén” frequency rank
- #10,023
- “mantenía” frequency rank
- 33879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mantén | mantenía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de mantener. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de mantener o de mantenerse. |
Where the eye mixes mantén and mantenía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. mantén runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against mantenía's 8 (CVCCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses mantén with mantenía
A purely visual mix-up. mantén ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽn]) and mantenía ([mãn̪t̪eˈnia]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mantén is recorded at frequency rank #23,856, classified as averb, pronounced [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽn]. mantenía is at rank #10,023, tagged as averb, pronounced [mãn̪t̪eˈnia].
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 33879, this pair ranks #194,423 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mantén vs mantenía
Shared letters: amnt. Private to "mantén": é. Private to "mantenía": eí.
"mantén" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mantenía" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mantén" for "mantenía" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mantén" vs "mantenía" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mantén" and "mantenía" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mantén" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mantenía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #194,423 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mantén" and "mantenía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantén vs mantis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #194,423 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.