tengavstengasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“tenga” and “tengas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#637
“tenga” frequency rank
#1,591
“tengas” frequency rank
2228
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tenga tengas
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de tener o de tenerse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de tener o de tenerse.

Where the eye mixes tenga and tengas

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

5 ch
tenga
6 ch
tengas

Why the eye confuses tenga with tengas

A purely visual mix-up. tenga ([ˈt̪ẽŋga]) and tengas ([ˈt̪ẽŋgas]) 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 “tengas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tenga is recorded at frequency rank #637, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽŋga]. tengas is at rank #1,591, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽŋgas].

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 2228, this pair ranks #320,742 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tenga vs tengas

Shared letters: aegnt. Private to "tenga": -. Private to "tengas": s.

"tenga" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "tengas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tengaetnga · tegna · tenag · tengga · tennga · tnega · ttenga
  • tengasetngas · tegnas · tenags · tengass · tenggas · tengsa · tenngas · tnegas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tenga" and "tengas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪ẽŋga] versus [ˈt̪ẽŋgas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tenga" vs "tengas" - which ranks higher?
"tenga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #637 in our Spanish list, against #1,591 for "tengas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tenga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tengas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #320,742 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tenga" and "tengas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tandas vs tengas". 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 #320,742 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