tesvstuenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tes is a noun, tuen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tes” is a noun and “tuen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,969
“tes” frequency rank
#32,318
“tuen” frequency rank
77287
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tes tuen
Definition Plural des Substantivs te 1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tun

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tes and tuen apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
tes
4 ch
tuen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tes is [tɛs] while tuen is [ˈtuːən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77287, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tes is recorded at frequency rank #44,969, classified as anoun, pronounced [tɛs]. tuen is at rank #32,318, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtuːən].

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 77287, this pair ranks #264,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tes vs tuen

Shared letters: et. Private to "tes": s. Private to "tuen": nu.

"tes" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tuen" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tuenteun · ttuen · tuenn · tune · uten

Frequency comparison

tes#44,969
tuen#32,318

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tes" and "tuen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tes" is a noun and "tuen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tes" or "tuen"?
"tuen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,318 in our German list, against #44,969 for "tes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tes vs tuen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tes”; for a verb, it's “tuen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tes” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list