tener

/[t̪eˈneɾ]/ verb

Letters

5 characters

Frequency Rank

#118

in Spanish word usage

Misspellings

7

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

tener is aSpanishverb. It means: Poseer, ser dueño de algo. Pronounced [t̪eˈneɾ]. It ranks #118 in Spanish word frequency. Often confused with ter and tere.

Key facts for tener
PropertyValue
Headwordtener
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[t̪eˈneɾ]
Letters5
Frequency rank#118
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of tener in Spanish word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for tener is 5 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [t̪eˈneɾ]. Corpus data places it at rank #118 in overall Spanish word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for tener, with forms such as "etner", "teenr", and "tenerr". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ter", "tere", "Tier", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Spanish form is tener, spelled T-E-N-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Poseer, ser dueño de algo.
  2. 2
    Sostener.
  3. 3
    Úsase para expresar una sensación.
  4. 4
    Úsase para medir la cantidad de tiempo de existencia de algo o alguien.
  5. 5
    Detener, parar.
  6. 6
    Guardar, cumplir.
  7. 7
    Hospedar o recibir.
  8. 8
    Estar en precisión de hacer una cosa u ocuparse en ella.
  9. 9
    Juzgar, reputar y entender.
  10. 10
    Construido con la preposición en y los adjetivos poco, mucho y otros semejantes, estimar y apreciar.
  11. 11
    Construido con algunos nombres de tiempo, emplear, pasar algún espacio de él en un lugar o sitio, o de cierta manera.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: etner,teenr,tenerr,tenner,tenre,tneer,ttener

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for tener

Misspelling Variants of "tener"

etner5teenr5tenerr6tenner6tenre5tneer5ttener6
Misspelling Variants of "tener"

Frequency rank: #118 in Spanish

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tener"?
"tener" is spelled T-E-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [t̪eˈneɾ].
What does "tener" mean?
As a verb, "tener" means: Poseer, ser dueño de algo.
What words are commonly confused with "tener"?
"tener" is commonly confused with "ter", "tere", "Tier". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tener"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tener" is [t̪eˈneɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tener" come from?
"tener" is a Spanish 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.

Nearby Spanish words

Other entries that begin with the letter T in our Spanish index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.