temvsthaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“tem” and “tha” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,481
“tem” frequency rank
#43,181
“tha” frequency rank
89662
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tem tha
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ter. Libérer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tem and tha apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
tem
3 ch
tha

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tem (\tɐ̃j\) and tha (\tʰa˦\) 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 89662, 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\. tha is at rank #43,181, tagged as averb, pronounced \tʰa˦\.

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 89662, this pair ranks #5,554 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tem vs tha

Shared letters: t. Private to "tem": em. Private to "tha": ah.

"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tha" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequency comparison

tem#46,481
tha#43,181

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tem" and "tha" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tɐ̃j\ versus \tʰa˦\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tem" or "tha"?
"tha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,181 in our French list, against #46,481 for "tem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tem vs tha

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list