tildevstimeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#24,332
“tilde” frequency rank
#4,840
“time” frequency rank
29172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tilde time
Definition El acento agudo; marca gráfica ´ que se usa, en castellano, para indicar la sílaba en donde recae el acento prosódico cuando las reglas ortográficas prescriben que es necesario hacerlo o que, de lo contrario, caería en otra sílaba. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de timar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tilde and time apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
tilde
4 ch
time

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

tilde and time form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tilde is recorded at frequency rank #24,332, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪il̪d̪e]. time is at rank #4,840, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪ime].

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 29172, this pair ranks #218,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

tilde#24,332
time#4,840

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tilde" and "time" be used interchangeably?
No, "tilde" and "time" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering tilde vs time

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tilde”; for a verb, it's “time”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tilde” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list