Which to use
“tenga” and “tengan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #637
- “tenga” frequency rank
- #1,227
- “tengan” frequency rank
- 1864
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenga | tengan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de tener o de tenerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de tener o de tenerse. |
Where the eye mixes tenga and tengan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tenga runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against tengan's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tenga and tengan
A purely visual mix-up. tenga ([ˈt̪ẽŋga]) 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 extra letter(s) - “tenga” sits inside “tengan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenga is recorded at frequency rank #637, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽŋga]. 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 1864, this pair ranks #321,353 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tenga vs tengan
Shared letters: aegnt. Private to "tenga": -. Private to "tengan": -.
"tenga" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "tengan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenga" for "tengan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tenga" vs "tengan" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenga" 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 #321,353 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenga" and "tengan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tendían vs tengan". 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 #321,353 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.