Which to use
“mantengo” and “mantenía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,150
- “mantengo” frequency rank
- #10,023
- “mantenía” frequency rank
- 26173
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mantengo | mantenía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de mantener. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de mantener o de mantenerse. |
Where the eye mixes mantengo and mantenía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. mantengo (CVCCVCCV) and mantenía (CVCCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between mantengo and mantenía
A purely visual mix-up. mantengo ([mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋgo]) and mantenía ([mãn̪t̪eˈnia]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mantengo is recorded at frequency rank #16,150, classified as averb, pronounced [mãn̪ˈt̪ẽŋgo]. mantenía is at rank #10,023, tagged as averb, pronounced [mãn̪t̪eˈnia].
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 26173, this pair ranks #232,943 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mantengo vs mantenía
Shared letters: aemnt. Private to "mantengo": go. Private to "mantenía": í.
"mantengo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "mantenía" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mantengo ← amntengo · manetngo · manntengo · mantegno · mantenggo · mantenngo · mantenog · mantnego
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mantengo" for "mantenía" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mantengo" or "mantenía" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mantengo" and "mantenía" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mantengo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mantenía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #232,943 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mantengo" and "mantenía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mantengas vs mantengo". 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 #232,943 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.