Which to use
“temían” and “tendían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,639
- “temían” frequency rank
- #48,111
- “tendían” frequency rank
- 74750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | temían | tendían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de temer. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tender o de tenderse. |
Where the eye mixes temían and tendían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. temían runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against tendían's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between temían and tendían
A purely visual mix-up. temían ([t̪eˈmiãn]) and tendían ([t̪ẽn̪ˈd̪iãn]) 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 74750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
temían is recorded at frequency rank #26,639, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪eˈmiãn]. tendían is at rank #48,111, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ẽn̪ˈd̪iãn].
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 74750, this pair ranks #20,760 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of temían vs tendían
Shared letters: aentí. Private to "temían": m. Private to "tendían": d.
"temían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "tendían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "temían" and "tendían" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "temían" or "tendían" show up more?
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 "temían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tendían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,760 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "temían" and "tendían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tendía vs tendían". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #20,760 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.