mantener
Spanish, verb/manteˈneɾ/
mantener is a Spanish verb meaning “to keep” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Proveer a alguien de sustento, en especial alimentario o económico”.
What does mantener mean in English?
verb
- 1
to keep
Mantenga la tapa cerrada, por favor.
- 2
to maintain, to support
Yo mantengo a mis hijos.
- 3
to sustain, to preserve, to retain, to uphold
- 4
to maintain, continue, to keep up
Mantengan el buen trabajo.
- 5
to stay, to remain
- 6
to maintain, to keep, to stay, to remain
Me voy a mantener despierto toda la noche estudiando la gramática española.
- 7
to stand, to hold, to remain, to continue (e.g. hold firm, stand strong, stand together, stand on one's feet)
Debemos mantenernos firmes exigiendo libertad.
- 8
to stick to (e.g. stick to one's guns)
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Proveer a alguien de sustento, en especial alimentario o económico 2. Cuidar de algo evitando que decaiga o restaurándolo con el fin de que permanezca en un estado tan similar al original como sea posible 3. Sostener algo con el fin de conservarlo en la posición requerida o para que no se caiga 4. No dejar de llevar a cabo la acción que se está ejecutando
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of mantener
- mantengo first-person present singular
- mantuve first-person preterite singular
- mantenido participle past
- e-ie alternation
- manteniendo gerund
- mantenida feminine participle past
- mantenidos masculine participle past
- mantenidas feminine participle past
- mantienes indicative informal present
- mantenés indicative informal present
- mantiene indicative present singular
- mantenemos first-person indicative plural
- mantenéis indicative plural present
- mantienen indicative plural present
- mantenía first-person imperfect indicative
- mantenías imperfect indicative second-person
- manteníamos first-person imperfect indicative
- manteníais imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce mantener?
- /manteˈneɾ/
- [mãn̪.t̪eˈneɾ]
- [mãn̪t̪eˈneɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to mantener
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is mantener in Spanish?
mantener appears 107 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).