tengáisvstennisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tengáis is a verb, tennis is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tengáis” is a verb and “tennis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,529
“tengáis” frequency rank
#27,028
“tennis” frequency rank
47557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tengáis tennis
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de subjuntivo de tener o de tenerse. Tenis.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tengáis and tennis apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
tengáis
6 ch
tennis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tengáis is [t̪ẽŋˈgajs] 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 47557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tengáis is recorded at frequency rank #20,529, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ẽŋˈgajs]. 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 47557, this pair ranks #119,390 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tengáis vs tennis

Shared letters: einst. Private to "tengáis": . Private to "tennis": -.

"tengáis" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "tennis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tennisetnnis · tenins · tenniss · tennsi · tnenis · ttennis

Frequency comparison

tengáis#20,529
tennis#27,028

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tengáis" and "tennis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tengáis" is a verb and "tennis" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tengáis" or "tennis"?
"tengáis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,529 in our Spanish list, against #27,028 for "tennis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tengáis vs tennis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tengáis”; for a noun, it's “tennis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tengáis” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list