Which to use
“tenés” is a verb and “tensos” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,568
- “tenés” frequency rank
- #40,019
- “tensos” frequency rank
- 45587
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenés | tensos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de indicativo de tener o de tenerse. | Forma del masculino plural de tenso. |
Where the eye mixes tenés and tensos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tenés runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tensos's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tenés vs tensos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tenés is [t̪eˈnes] while tensos is [ˈt̪ẽnsos]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45587, 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]. 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 45587, this pair ranks #130,580 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tenés vs tensos
Shared letters: enst. Private to "tenés": é. Private to "tensos": o.
"tenés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tensos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tensos ← etnsos · tennsos · tenoss · tensoss · tenssos · tesnos · tnesos · ttensos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenés" for "tensos" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tenés" or "tensos" show up more?
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 "tenés" 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 #130,580 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenés" 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 #130,580 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.