Which to use
“permanece” and “pertenece” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,239
- “permanece” frequency rank
- #2,306
- “pertenece” frequency rank
- 7545
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | permanece | pertenece |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de permanecer. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pertenecer. |
Where the eye mixes permanece and pertenece
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. permanece and pertenece follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses permanece with pertenece
A purely visual mix-up. permanece ([peɾmaˈnese]) and pertenece ([peɾt̪eˈnese]) 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 7545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
permanece is recorded at frequency rank #5,239, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾmaˈnese]. pertenece is at rank #2,306, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾt̪eˈnese].
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 7545, this pair ranks #307,693 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of permanece vs pertenece
Shared letters: cenpr. Private to "permanece": am. Private to "pertenece": t.
"permanece" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "pertenece" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "permanece" and "pertenece" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "permanece" or "pertenece"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "permanece" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pertenece" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #307,693 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "permanece" and "pertenece" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "percance vs permanece". 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 #307,693 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.