Which to use
“mantenían” and “mantenido” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,758
- “mantenían” frequency rank
- #5,226
- “mantenido” frequency rank
- 22984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mantenían | mantenido |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de mantener o de mantenerse. | Participio de mantener o de mantenerse. |
Where the eye mixes mantenían and mantenido
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. mantenían (CVCCVCVVC) and mantenido (CVCCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses mantenían with mantenido
A purely visual mix-up. mantenían ([mãn̪t̪eˈniãn]) and mantenido ([mãn̪t̪eˈnið̞o]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mantenían is recorded at frequency rank #17,758, classified as averb, pronounced [mãn̪t̪eˈniãn]. mantenido is at rank #5,226, tagged as averb, pronounced [mãn̪t̪eˈnið̞o].
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 22984, this pair ranks #247,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mantenían vs mantenido
Shared letters: aemnt. Private to "mantenían": í. Private to "mantenido": dio.
"mantenían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "mantenido" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mantenido ← amntenido · manetnido · manntenido · manteindo · mantendio · manteniddo · manteniod · mantennido
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mantenían" and "mantenido" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mantenían" vs "mantenido" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mantenían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mantenido" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mantenían" and "mantenido" 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 #247,872 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.