Which to use
“mente” is a noun and “minute” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #941
- “mente” frequency rank
- #42,036
- “minute” frequency rank
- 42977
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mente | minute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Entidad incorporea, inmaterial, supuesta sede de la imaginación, la conciencia, la reflexión, la intuición, la voluntad. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de minutar. |
Where the eye mixes mente and minute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mente and minute
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mente is [ˈmẽn̪t̪e] while minute is [miˈnut̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mente is recorded at frequency rank #941, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmẽn̪t̪e]. minute is at rank #42,036, tagged as averb, pronounced [miˈnut̪e].
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 42977, this pair ranks #145,215 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mente vs minute
Shared letters: emnt. Private to "mente": -. Private to "minute": iu.
"mente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "minute" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mente" and "minute" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mente" vs "minute" - which ranks higher?
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 "mente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "minute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,215 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mente" and "minute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "minute vs mute". 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 #145,215 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.