Which to use
“metan” and “meten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,425
- “metan” frequency rank
- #8,024
- “meten” frequency rank
- 20449
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | metan | meten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de meter o de meterse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de meter. |
Where the eye mixes metan and meten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between metan and meten
A purely visual mix-up. metan ([ˈmet̪ãn]) and meten ([ˈmet̪ẽn]) 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 a single letter - a in “metan” becomes e in “meten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
metan is recorded at frequency rank #12,425, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmet̪ãn]. meten is at rank #8,024, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmet̪ẽn].
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 20449, this pair ranks #259,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of metan vs meten
Shared letters: emnt. Private to "metan": a. Private to "meten": -.
"metan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "meten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "metan" and "meten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "metan" vs "meten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "metan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #259,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "metan" and "meten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "means vs metan". 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 #259,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.