Which to use
“mantener” and “mantenerse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #827
- “mantener” frequency rank
- #5,128
- “mantenerse” frequency rank
- 5955
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mantener | mantenerse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Proveer a alguien de sustento, en especial alimentario o económico | Sostenerse uno mismo, sea en un mismo nivel o lugar durante el transcurso del tiempo, o bien económicamente. |
Where the eye mixes mantener and mantenerse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. mantener runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against mantenerse's 10 (CVCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mantener vs mantenerse
A purely visual mix-up. mantener ([mãn̪t̪eˈneɾ]) and mantenerse ([mãn̪t̪eˈneɾse]) 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 extra letter(s) - “mantener” sits inside “mantenerse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5955, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mantener is recorded at frequency rank #827, classified as averb, pronounced [mãn̪t̪eˈneɾ]. mantenerse is at rank #5,128, tagged as averb, pronounced [mãn̪t̪eˈneɾse].
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 5955, this pair ranks #312,190 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mantener vs mantenerse
Shared letters: aemnrt. Private to "mantener": -. Private to "mantenerse": s.
"mantener" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "mantenerse" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mantener ← amntener · manetner · manntener · manteenr · mantenerr · mantenner · mantenre · mantneer
- mantenerse ← amntenerse · manetnerse · manntenerse · manteenrse · mantenerce · manteneres · mantenerrse · mantenersse
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mantener" for "mantenerse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mantener" vs "mantenerse" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mantener" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mantenerse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #312,190 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mantener" and "mantenerse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantenerse vs manténgase". 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 #312,190 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.