Which to use
“tejo” is a noun and “tengo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,836
- “tejo” frequency rank
- #88
- “tengo” frequency rank
- 46924
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tejo | tengo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pedazo de piedra plana y redondeada, o trozo de teja que se usa en diversos juegos. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de tener. |
Where the eye mixes tejo and tengo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. tejo runs 4 letters (CVCV) against tengo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tejo vs tengo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tejo is [ˈt̪exo] while tengo is [ˈt̪ẽŋgo]. 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 46924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tejo is recorded at frequency rank #46,836, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪exo]. tengo is at rank #88, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽŋgo].
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 46924, this pair ranks #122,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tejo vs tengo
Shared letters: eot. Private to "tejo": j. Private to "tengo": gn.
"tejo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tengo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tejo" and "tengo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tejo" or "tengo"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tejo" and "tengo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tejo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tengo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #122,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tejo" and "tengo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tapo vs tejo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #122,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.