tabvstenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“tab” and “ten” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,580
“tab” frequency rank
#3,450
“ten” frequency rank
32030
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tab ten
Definition Injertar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de tener.

Where the eye mixes tab and ten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
tab
3 ch
ten

Visual trap between tab and ten

A purely visual mix-up. tab (/taɓ/) and ten ([ˈt̪ẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tab is recorded at frequency rank #28,580, classified as averb, pronounced /taɓ/. ten is at rank #3,450, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽn].

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 32030, this pair ranks #204,101 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tab vs ten

Shared letters: t. Private to "tab": ab. Private to "ten": en.

"tab" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "ten" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tab" and "ten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/taɓ/ versus [ˈt̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tab" vs "ten" - which ranks higher?
"ten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,450 in our Spanish list, against #28,580 for "tab". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #204,101 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tab" and "ten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tab vs task". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #204,101 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list