tense

[…]

/[…]/ verb

The verdict

“tense” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - angespannt werden, speziell weil man nervös ist

Corpus desk

Index DE-tense · tense · German

tense · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for tense
PropertyValue
Headwordtense
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[…]
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „tense“ im Deutschen

tenseliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tense is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed […]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for tense in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is tense, spelled T-E-N-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    angespannt werden, speziell weil man nervös ist
  2. 2
    etwas anspannen, typischerweise einen Muskel

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tense appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Her body tensed up.
  2. Carefully stretch and then tense your muscles.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tense"?
"tense" is spelled T-E-N-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is […].
What does "tense" mean?
As a verb, "tense" means: angespannt werden, speziell weil man nervös ist
How do you pronounce "tense"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tense" is […]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tense" come from?
"tense" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list