temasvstempsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#729
“temas” frequency rank
#38,991
“temps” frequency rank
39720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature temas temps
Definition Forma del plural de tema. Tiempo

Where the eye mixes temas and temps

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
temas
5 ch
temps

Visual trap between temas and temps

A purely visual mix-up. temas ([ˈt̪emas]) and temps ([ˈtems]) 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 a single letter - a in “temas” becomes p in “temps”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

temas is recorded at frequency rank #729, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪emas]. temps is at rank #38,991, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtems].

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 39720, this pair ranks #163,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of temas vs temps

Shared letters: emst. Private to "temas": a. Private to "temps": p.

"temas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "temps" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • temasetmas · teams · temass · temmas · temsa · tmeas · ttemas
  • tempsetmps · temmps · tempps · tempss · temsp · tepms · tmeps · ttemps

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "temas" and "temps" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪emas] versus [ˈtems]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "temas" or "temps"?
"temas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #729 in our Spanish list, against #38,991 for "temps". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "temas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "temps" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #163,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "temas" and "temps" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tamos vs temps". 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 #163,008 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