Which to use
“mantenga” and “mantenían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,592
- “mantenga” frequency rank
- #17,758
- “mantenían” frequency rank
- 25350
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mantenga | mantenían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de mantener o de mantenerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de mantener o de mantenerse. |
Where the eye mixes mantenga and mantenían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. mantenga runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against mantenían's 9 (CVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses mantenga with mantenían
A purely visual mix-up. mantenga ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋga]) and mantenían ([mãn̪t̪eˈniãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25350, 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]. mantenían is at rank #17,758, tagged as averb, pronounced [mãn̪t̪eˈniãn].
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 25350, this pair ranks #236,840 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mantenga vs mantenían
Shared letters: aemnt. Private to "mantenga": g. Private to "mantenían": í.
"mantenga" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "mantenían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mantenga ← amntenga · manetnga · manntenga · mantegna · mantenag · mantengga · mantennga · mantnega
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mantenga" and "mantenían" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mantenga" or "mantenían"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "mantenga" and "mantenían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mantenga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mantenían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,840 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mantenga" and "mantenían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantengas vs mantenían". 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 #236,840 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.