mantengavsmantengasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,592
“mantenga” frequency rank
#40,943
“mantengas” frequency rank
48535
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mantenga mantengas
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de mantener o de mantenerse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de mantener.

Where the eye mixes mantenga and mantengas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. mantenga runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against mantengas's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
mantenga
9 ch
mantengas

Why the eye confuses mantenga with mantengas

A purely visual mix-up. mantenga ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋga]) and mantengas ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋgas]) 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 extra letter(s) - “mantenga” sits inside “mantengas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48535, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mantenga is recorded at frequency rank #7,592, classified as averb, pronounced [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋga]. mantengas is at rank #40,943, tagged as averb, pronounced [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋgas].

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 48535, this pair ranks #113,944 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mantenga vs mantengas

Shared letters: aegmnt. Private to "mantenga": -. Private to "mantengas": s.

"mantenga" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "mantengas" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mantengaamntenga · manetnga · manntenga · mantegna · mantenag · mantengga · mantennga · mantnega
  • mantengasamntengas · manetngas · manntengas · mantegnas · mantenags · mantengass · mantenggas · mantengsa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "mantenga" and "mantengas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋga] versus [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋgas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mantenga" vs "mantengas" - which ranks higher?
"mantenga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,592 in our Spanish list, against #40,943 for "mantengas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mantenga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mantengas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #113,944 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mantenga" and "mantengas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "manténganse vs mantengas". 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 #113,944 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list