Which to use
“maten” and “meter” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,371
- “maten” frequency rank
- #3,130
- “meter” frequency rank
- 13501
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maten | meter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de matar o de matarse. | Introducir. |
Where the eye mixes maten and meter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maten vs meter
A purely visual mix-up. maten ([ˈmat̪ẽn]) and meter ([meˈt̪eɾ]) 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 13501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maten is recorded at frequency rank #10,371, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmat̪ẽn]. meter is at rank #3,130, tagged as averb, pronounced [meˈt̪eɾ].
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 13501, this pair ranks #287,642 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maten vs meter
Shared letters: emt. Private to "maten": an. Private to "meter": r.
"maten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "meter" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "maten" and "meter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "maten" or "meter" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,642 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maten" and "meter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "makes vs maten". 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 #287,642 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.