Which to use
“mantengan” and “mantenían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,447
- “mantengan” frequency rank
- #17,758
- “mantenían” frequency rank
- 29205
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mantengan | mantenían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) 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 mantengan and mantenían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. mantengan (CVCCVCCVC) and mantenían (CVCCVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses mantengan with mantenían
A purely visual mix-up. mantengan ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋgãn]) 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 a single letter - g in “mantengan” becomes í in “mantenían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29205, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mantengan is recorded at frequency rank #11,447, classified as averb, pronounced [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋgãn]. 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 29205, this pair ranks #218,185 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mantengan vs mantenían
Shared letters: aemnt. Private to "mantengan": g. Private to "mantenían": í.
"mantengan" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "mantenían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mantengan ← amntengan · manetngan · manntengan · mantegnan · mantenagn · mantengann · mantenggan · mantengna
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mantengan" and "mantenían" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mantengan" vs "mantenían" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "mantengan" and "mantenían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mantengan" 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 #218,185 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mantengan" and "mantenían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantengan vs manténganse". 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 #218,185 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.