Which to use
“tem” is a noun and “teme” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,838
- “tem” frequency rank
- #8,191
- “teme” frequency rank
- 55029
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tem | teme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Escalón. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de temar. |
Where the eye mixes tem and teme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tem and teme
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tem is /tem/ while teme is [ˈt̪eme]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “tem” sits inside “teme”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tem is recorded at frequency rank #46,838, classified as anoun, pronounced /tem/. teme is at rank #8,191, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪eme].
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 55029, this pair ranks #80,718 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tem vs teme
Shared letters: emt. Private to "tem": -. Private to "teme": -.
"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "teme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- teme ← etme · teem · temme · tmee · tteme
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tem" and "teme" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tem" or "teme"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "teme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #80,718 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tem" and "teme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tem vs tomb". 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 #80,718 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.