temorvstempsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,520
“temor” frequency rank
#38,991
“temps” frequency rank
42511
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature temor temps
Definition Emoción primitiva que prepara al animal para emprender la huida o la defensa, ante un peligro inminente. :*Sinónimo: miedo. Tiempo

Where the eye mixes temor and temps

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
temor
5 ch
temps

Look-alike desk: temor vs temps

A purely visual mix-up. temor ([t̪eˈmoɾ]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

temor is recorded at frequency rank #3,520, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪eˈmoɾ]. 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 42511, this pair ranks #147,790 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of temor vs temps

Shared letters: emt. Private to "temor": or. Private to "temps": ps.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • temoretmor · temmor · temorr · temro · teomr · tmeor · ttemor
  • tempsetmps · temmps · tempps · tempss · temsp · tepms · tmeps · ttemps

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "temor" for "temps" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([t̪eˈmoɾ] versus [ˈtems]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "temor" vs "temps" - which ranks higher?
"temor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,520 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.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "temor" 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 #147,790 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "temor" 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 #147,790 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