temblóvstemibleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tembló is a verb, temible is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tembló” is a verb and “temible” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,173
“tembló” frequency rank
#22,526
“temible” frequency rank
64699
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tembló temible
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de temblar. Digno o susceptible de ser temido.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tembló and temible apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
tembló
7 ch
temible

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tembló is [t̪ẽmˈblo] while temible is [t̪eˈmiβ̞le]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tembló is recorded at frequency rank #42,173, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ẽmˈblo]. temible is at rank #22,526, tagged as anadj, pronounced [t̪eˈmiβ̞le].

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 64699, this pair ranks #44,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tembló vs temible

Shared letters: belmt. Private to "tembló": ó. Private to "temible": i.

"tembló" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "temible" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • temibleetmible · teimble · tembile · temibble · temibel · temiblle · temilbe · temivle

Frequency comparison

tembló#42,173
temible#22,526

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tembló" and "temible" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tembló" is a verb and "temible" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tembló" or "temible"?
"temible" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,526 in our Spanish list, against #42,173 for "tembló". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tembló vs temible

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tembló”; for an adjective, it's “temible”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tembló” 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