tensosvstercosConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#40,019
“tensos” frequency rank
#48,727
“tercos” frequency rank
88746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tensos tercos
Definition Forma del masculino plural de tenso. Forma del plural de terco.

Where the eye mixes tensos and tercos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
tensos
6 ch
tercos

Visual trap between tensos and tercos

A purely visual mix-up. tensos ([ˈt̪ẽnsos]) and tercos ([ˈt̪eɾkos]) 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 88746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tensos is recorded at frequency rank #40,019, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪ẽnsos]. tercos is at rank #48,727, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪eɾkos].

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 88746, this pair ranks #3,558 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tensos vs tercos

Shared letters: eost. Private to "tensos": n. Private to "tercos": cr.

"tensos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tercos" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tensosetnsos · tennsos · tenoss · tensoss · tenssos · tesnos · tnesos · ttensos
  • tercosetrcos · tecros · terccos · tercoss · tercso · terocs · terrcos · trecos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tensos" and "tercos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪ẽnsos] versus [ˈt̪eɾkos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tensos" or "tercos" show up more?
"tensos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,019 in our Spanish list, against #48,727 for "tercos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tensos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tercos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #3,558 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tensos" and "tercos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tercos vs termos". 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 #3,558 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