Which to use
“mantén” is a verb and “mentón” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,856
- “mantén” frequency rank
- #29,733
- “mentón” frequency rank
- 53589
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mantén | mentón |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de mantener. | Extremo inferior del rostro del ser humano. |
Where the eye mixes mantén and mentón
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mantén and mentón follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses mantén with mentón
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mantén is [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽn] while mentón is [mẽn̪ˈt̪õn]. 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 53589, 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]. mentón is at rank #29,733, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mẽn̪ˈt̪õn].
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 53589, this pair ranks #87,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mantén vs mentón
Shared letters: mnt. Private to "mantén": aé. Private to "mentón": eó.
"mantén" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mentón" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mantén" for "mentón" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mantén" or "mentón" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mantén" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mentón" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mantén" and "mentón" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantos vs mentón". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #87,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.