Which to use
“sostener” and “sostienen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,593
- “sostener” frequency rank
- #8,881
- “sostienen” frequency rank
- 15474
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sostener | sostienen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tener o mantener algo en la mano. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sostener o de sostenerse. |
Where the eye mixes sostener and sostienen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. sostener runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against sostienen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sostener with sostienen
A purely visual mix-up. sostener ([sost̪eˈneɾ]) and sostienen ([sosˈt̪jenẽn]) 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 15474, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sostener is recorded at frequency rank #6,593, classified as averb, pronounced [sost̪eˈneɾ]. sostienen is at rank #8,881, tagged as averb, pronounced [sosˈt̪jenẽn].
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 15474, this pair ranks #279,999 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sostener vs sostienen
Shared letters: enost. Private to "sostener": r. Private to "sostienen": i.
"sostener" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "sostienen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sostener" and "sostienen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "sostener" vs "sostienen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sostener" and "sostienen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sostener" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sostienen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #279,999 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sostener" and "sostienen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sostener vs sostenerse". 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 #279,999 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.