tempovstomoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#21,847
“tempo” frequency rank
#2,321
“tomo” frequency rank
24168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tempo tomo
Definition Tiempo. Subdivisión de un libro, manuscrito u obra impresa, generalmente con su propia paginación y encuadernación.

Where the eye mixes tempo and tomo

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

5 ch
tempo
4 ch
tomo

Why the eye confuses tempo with tomo

A purely visual mix-up. tempo ([ˈt̪ẽmpo]) and tomo ([ˈt̪omo]) 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 24168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tempo is recorded at frequency rank #21,847, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽmpo]. tomo is at rank #2,321, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪omo].

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 24168, this pair ranks #242,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tempo vs tomo

Shared letters: mot. Private to "tempo": ep. Private to "tomo": -.

"tempo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "tomo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tempoetmpo · temmpo · temop · temppo · tepmo · tmepo · ttempo
  • tomootmo · tmoo · tommo · toom · ttomo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tempo" for "tomo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪ẽmpo] versus [ˈt̪omo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tempo" vs "tomo" - which ranks higher?
"tomo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,321 in our Spanish list, against #21,847 for "tempo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "tempo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #242,418 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tempo" and "tomo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tapo vs tempo". 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 #242,418 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