mantén vs mantra, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#23,856
“mantén” frequency rank: #27,297
“mantra” frequency rank: 51153
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mantén	mantra
Definition	Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de mantener.	Salmo, himno o plegaria en verso tomada de los Vedas hindúes.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

mantén

6 ch

mantra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mantén is [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽn] while mantra is [ˈmãn̪t̪ɾa]. 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 51153, 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]. mantra is at rank #27,297, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmãn̪t̪ɾa].

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 51153, this pair ranks #99,400 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mantén vs mantra

Shared letters: amnt. Private to "mantén": é. Private to "mantra": r.

"mantén" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mantra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

mantra ← amntra · manntra · manrta · mantar · mantrra · manttra · matnra · mmantra

Frequency comparison

mantén#23,856

mantra#27,297

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mantén" and "mantra" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mantén" is a verb and "mantra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "mantén" or "mantra"?

"mantén" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,856 in our Spanish list, against #27,297 for "mantra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mantén vs mantra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mantén”; for a noun, it's “mantra”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mantén” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable