Which to use
“tem” is a verb and “tête” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,481
- “tem” frequency rank
- #237
- “tête” frequency rank
- 46718
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tem | tête |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ter. | Partie supérieure du corps, qui est le siège du cerveau et des principaux organes des sens, et qui, chez l’être humain et chez la plupart des vertébrés, tient au reste du corps par le cou. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tem and tête apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tem is \tɐ̃j\ while tête is \tɛt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46718, 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\. tête is at rank #237, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛt\.
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 46718, this pair ranks #192,679 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tem vs tête
Shared letters: et. Private to "tem": m. Private to "tête": ê.
"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tête" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tem" and "tête" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tem" or "tête"?
Remembering tem vs tête
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tem”; for a noun, it's “tête”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tem” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable