tenéisvstensosConfusable pair

Quick tell: tenéis is a verb, tensos is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tenéis” is a verb and “tensos” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,204
“tenéis” frequency rank
#40,019
“tensos” frequency rank
44223
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tenéis tensos
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de tener. Forma del masculino plural de tenso.

Where the eye mixes tenéis and tensos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tenéis (CVCVVC) and tensos (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
tenéis
6 ch
tensos

Why the eye confuses tenéis with tensos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tenéis is [t̪eˈnejs] while tensos is [ˈt̪ẽnsos]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44223, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tenéis is recorded at frequency rank #4,204, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪eˈnejs]. tensos is at rank #40,019, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽnsos].

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 44223, this pair ranks #138,245 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tenéis vs tensos

Shared letters: enst. Private to "tenéis": ié. Private to "tensos": o.

"tenéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "tensos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tensos ← etnsos · tennsos · tenoss · tensoss · tenssos · tesnos · tnesos · ttensos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tenéis" and "tensos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tenéis" is a verb and "tensos" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tenéis" or "tensos"?
"tenéis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,204 in our Spanish list, against #40,019 for "tensos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "tenéis" and "tensos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tenéis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tensos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #138,245 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tenéis" and "tensos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tensos 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 #138,245 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