matenvsmuteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“maten” and “mute” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,371
“maten” frequency rank
#44,883
“mute” frequency rank
55254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature maten mute
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de matar o de matarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de mutar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maten and mute apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
maten
4 ch
mute

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. maten ([ˈmat̪ẽn]) and mute ([ˈmut̪e]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55254, 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]. mute is at rank #44,883, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmut̪e].

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 55254, this pair ranks #79,715 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of maten vs mute

Shared letters: emt. Private to "maten": an. Private to "mute": u.

"maten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • matenamten · maetn · matenn · matne · matten · mmaten · mtaen
  • mutemmute · mtue · muet · mutte · umte

Frequency comparison

maten#10,371
mute#44,883

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "maten" and "mute" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmat̪ẽn] versus [ˈmut̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "maten" or "mute"?
"maten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,371 in our Spanish list, against #44,883 for "mute". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering maten vs mute

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list