Which to use
“tendían” and “tengan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,111
- “tendían” frequency rank
- #1,227
- “tengan” frequency rank
- 49338
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tendían | tengan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tender o de tenderse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de tener o de tenerse. |
Where the eye mixes tendían and tengan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tendían runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against tengan's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tendían and tengan
A purely visual mix-up. tendían ([t̪ẽn̪ˈd̪iãn]) and tengan ([ˈt̪ẽŋgãn]) 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 49338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tendían is recorded at frequency rank #48,111, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ẽn̪ˈd̪iãn]. tengan is at rank #1,227, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽŋgãn].
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 49338, this pair ranks #109,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tendían vs tengan
Shared letters: aent. Private to "tendían": dí. Private to "tengan": g.
"tendían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "tengan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tengan ← etngan · tegnan · tenagn · tengann · tenggan · tengna · tenngan · tnegan
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tendían" and "tengan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tendían" vs "tengan" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tendían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tengan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #109,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tendían" and "tengan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tendía vs tendían". 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 #109,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.