Which to use
“tenés” is a verb and “tennis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,568
- “tenés” frequency rank
- #27,028
- “tennis” frequency rank
- 32596
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenés | tennis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de indicativo de tener o de tenerse. | Tenis. |
Where the eye mixes tenés and tennis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tenés runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tennis's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tenés with tennis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tenés is [t̪eˈnes] while tennis is [teˈnːis]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenés is recorded at frequency rank #5,568, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪eˈnes]. tennis is at rank #27,028, tagged as anoun, pronounced [teˈnːis].
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 32596, this pair ranks #201,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tenés vs tennis
Shared letters: enst. Private to "tenés": é. Private to "tennis": i.
"tenés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tennis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tennis ← etnnis · tenins · tenniss · tennsi · tnenis · ttennis
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenés" for "tennis" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tenés" or "tennis" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tennis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #201,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenés" and "tennis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tennis vs tetris". 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 #201,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.