mentívsmentirWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#39,858
“mentí” frequency rank
#5,331
“mentir” frequency rank
45189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mentí mentir
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de mentir. Decir algo que es falso o negar la verdad.

Where the eye mixes mentí and mentir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mentí runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against mentir's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
mentí
6 ch
mentir

Visual trap between mentí and mentir

A purely visual mix-up. mentí ([mẽn̪ˈt̪i]) and mentir ([mẽn̪ˈt̪iɾ]) 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 45189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mentí is recorded at frequency rank #39,858, classified as averb, pronounced [mẽn̪ˈt̪i]. mentir is at rank #5,331, tagged as averb, pronounced [mẽn̪ˈt̪iɾ].

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 45189, this pair ranks #132,871 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mentí vs mentir

Shared letters: emnt. Private to "mentí": í. Private to "mentir": ir.

"mentí" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mentir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mentir ← emntir · menitr · menntir · mentirr · mentri · menttir · metnir · mmentir

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mentí" for "mentir" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([mẽn̪ˈt̪i] versus [mẽn̪ˈt̪iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mentí" vs "mentir" - which ranks higher?
"mentir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,331 in our Spanish list, against #39,858 for "mentí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mentí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mentir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #132,871 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mentí" and "mentir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mentí vs month". 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 #132,871 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list