Which to use
“tem” and “tend” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,481
- “tem” frequency rank
- #5,709
- “tend” frequency rank
- 52190
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tem | tend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ter. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de tendre. |
Where the eye mixes tem and tend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tem runs 3 letters (CVC) against tend's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tem vs tend
A purely visual mix-up. tem (\tɐ̃j\) and tend (\tɑ̃\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tem is recorded at frequency rank #46,481, classified as averb, pronounced \tɐ̃j\. tend is at rank #5,709, tagged as averb, pronounced \tɑ̃\.
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 52190, this pair ranks #149,459 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tem vs tend
Shared letters: et. Private to "tem": m. Private to "tend": dn.
"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tend" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tend ← etnd · tedn · tendd · tennd · tned · ttend
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tem" for "tend" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tem" or "tend"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,459 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tem" and "tend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tem vs tif". 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 #149,459 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.