tempsvstermosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,991
“temps” frequency rank
#49,315
“termos” frequency rank
88306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature temps termos
Definition Tiempo Forma del plural de termo.

Where the eye mixes temps and termos

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

5 ch
temps
6 ch
termos

Why the eye confuses temps with termos

A purely visual mix-up. temps ([ˈtems]) and termos ([ˈt̪eɾmos]) 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 88306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

temps is recorded at frequency rank #38,991, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtems]. termos is at rank #49,315, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪eɾmos].

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 88306, this pair ranks #3,855 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of temps vs termos

Shared letters: emst. Private to "temps": p. Private to "termos": or.

"temps" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "termos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tempsetmps · temmps · tempps · tempss · temsp · tepms · tmeps · ttemps
  • termosetrmos · temros · termmos · termoss · termso · teroms · terrmos · tremos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "temps" and "termos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtems] versus [ˈt̪eɾmos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "temps" or "termos"?
"temps" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,991 in our Spanish list, against #49,315 for "termos". 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 "temps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "termos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #3,855 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "temps" and "termos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tamos vs termos". 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 #3,855 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