Which to use
“tengan” and “tragan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,227
- “tengan” frequency rank
- #43,897
- “tragan” frequency rank
- 45124
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tengan | tragan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de tener o de tenerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de tragar o de tragarse. |
Where the eye mixes tengan and tragan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tengan (CVCCVC) and tragan (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between tengan and tragan
A purely visual mix-up. tengan ([ˈt̪ẽŋgãn]) and tragan ([ˈt̪ɾaɣ̞ãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tengan is recorded at frequency rank #1,227, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽŋgãn]. tragan is at rank #43,897, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ɾaɣ̞ãn].
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 45124, this pair ranks #133,259 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tengan vs tragan
Shared letters: agnt. Private to "tengan": e. Private to "tragan": r.
"tengan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tragan" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tengan" for "tragan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tengan" or "tragan" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tengan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tragan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #133,259 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tengan" and "tragan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "traca vs tragan". 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 #133,259 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.