temanvstemesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,416
“teman” frequency rank
#27,420
“temes” frequency rank
65836
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teman temes
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de temar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de temar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set teman and temes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
teman
5 ch
temes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. teman ([ˈt̪emãn]) and temes ([ˈt̪emes]) 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 65836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

teman is recorded at frequency rank #38,416, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪emãn]. temes is at rank #27,420, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪emes].

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 65836, this pair ranks #41,495 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of teman vs temes

Shared letters: emt. Private to "teman": an. Private to "temes": s.

"teman" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "temes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • temanetman · teamn · temann · temman · temna · tmean · tteman
  • temesetmes · teems · temess · temmes · temse · tmees · ttemes

Frequency comparison

teman#38,416
temes#27,420

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "teman" and "temes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪emãn] versus [ˈt̪emes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "teman" or "temes"?
"temes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,420 in our Spanish list, against #38,416 for "teman". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering teman vs temes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “teman” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list