tengamosvstengasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,814
“tengamos” frequency rank
#1,591
“tengas” frequency rank
5405
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tengamos tengas
Definition Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) 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 tengamos and tengas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tengamos runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against tengas's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
tengamos
6 ch
tengas

Why the eye confuses tengamos with tengas

A purely visual mix-up. tengamos ([t̪ẽŋˈgamos]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5405, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tengamos is recorded at frequency rank #3,814, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ẽŋˈgamos]. 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 5405, this pair ranks #313,707 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tengamos vs tengas

Shared letters: aegnst. Private to "tengamos": mo. Private to "tengas": -.

"tengamos" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "tengas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tengamos ← etngamos · tegnamos · tenagmos · tengammos · tengamoss · tengamso · tengaoms · tenggamos
  • tengas ← etngas · tegnas · tenags · tengass · tenggas · tengsa · tenngas · tnegas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tengamos" and "tengas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ẽŋˈgamos] versus [ˈt̪ẽŋgas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tengamos" or "tengas" show up more?
"tengas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,591 in our Spanish list, against #3,814 for "tengamos". 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 "tengamos" 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 #313,707 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tengamos" 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 #313,707 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