temvstomoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#46,838
“tem” frequency rank
#2,321
“tomo” frequency rank
49159
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tem tomo
Definition Escalón. Subdivisión de un libro, manuscrito u obra impresa, generalmente con su propia paginación y encuadernación.

Where the eye mixes tem and tomo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
tem
4 ch
tomo

Why the eye confuses tem with tomo

A purely visual mix-up. tem (/tem/) and tomo ([ˈt̪omo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49159, 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/. tomo is at rank #2,321, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪omo].

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 49159, this pair ranks #110,400 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tem vs tomo

Shared letters: mt. Private to "tem": e. Private to "tomo": o.

"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tomo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomootmo · tmoo · tommo · toom · ttomo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tem" and "tomo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/tem/ versus [ˈt̪omo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tem" or "tomo"?
"tomo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,321 in our Spanish list, against #46,838 for "tem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "tem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #110,400 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tem" and "tomo" 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 #110,400 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