Which to use
“tea” and “tes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,413
- “tea” frequency rank
- #44,969
- “tes” frequency rank
- 64382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tea | tes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Tee | Plural des Substantivs te |
Where the eye mixes tea and tes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tea with tes
A purely visual mix-up. tea ([tiː]) and tes ([tɛs]) 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 “tea” becomes s in “tes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tea is recorded at frequency rank #19,413, classified as anoun, pronounced [tiː]. tes is at rank #44,969, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tɛs].
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 64382, this pair ranks #643,610 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tea vs tes
Shared letters: et. Private to "tea": a. Private to "tes": s.
"tea" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "tes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tea" for "tes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tea" or "tes"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #643,610 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tea" and "tes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tes vs trees". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #643,610 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.