Which to use
“tenue” is an adjective and “tiene” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,064
- “tenue” frequency rank
- #51
- “tiene” frequency rank
- 25115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenue | tiene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | De poca o suave intensidad, fuerza, sustancia o consistencia. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de tener o de tenerse. |
Where the eye mixes tenue and tiene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tenue and tiene
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tenue is [ˈt̪enwe] while tiene is [ˈt̪jene]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenue is recorded at frequency rank #25,064, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪enwe]. tiene is at rank #51, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪jene].
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 25115, this pair ranks #237,936 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tenue vs tiene
Shared letters: ent. Private to "tenue": u. Private to "tiene": i.
"tenue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "tiene" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenue" for "tiene" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tenue" or "tiene"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tenue" and "tiene" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tiene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,936 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenue" and "tiene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teje vs tenue". 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 #237,936 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.