tenedorvstenemosConfusable pair

Quick tell: tenedor is a noun, tenemos is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tenedor” is a noun and “tenemos” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,241
“tenedor” frequency rank
#229
“tenemos” frequency rank
15470
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tenedor tenemos
Definition Utensilio de mesa que consta de un mango y una cabeza con dientes largos en la punta (normalmente tres o cuatro dientes) y es utilizado para pinchar, sostener o transportar algo, en particular se utiliza para llevar comida a la boca o para fijar algo mientras se cocina o se corta. Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de indicativo de tener o de tenerse.

Where the eye mixes tenedor and tenemos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
tenedor
7 ch
tenemos

Visual trap between tenedor and tenemos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tenedor is [t̪eneˈð̞oɾ] while tenemos is [t̪eˈnemos]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tenedor is recorded at frequency rank #15,241, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪eneˈð̞oɾ]. tenemos is at rank #229, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪eˈnemos].

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 15470, this pair ranks #280,015 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tenedor vs tenemos

Shared letters: enot. Private to "tenedor": dr. Private to "tenemos": ms.

"tenedor" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "tenemos" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tenedoretnedor · teendor · tendeor · teneddor · tenedorr · tenedro · teneodr · tennedor
  • tenemosetnemos · teenmos · tenemmos · tenemoss · tenemso · teneoms · tenmeos · tennemos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tenedor" and "tenemos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tenedor" is a noun and "tenemos" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tenedor" or "tenemos" show up more?
"tenemos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #229 in our Spanish list, against #15,241 for "tenedor". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "tenedor" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tenemos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #280,015 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tenedor" and "tenemos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tejedor vs tenedor". 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 #280,015 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