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 eye mixes tem and tha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. tem (CVC) and tha (CCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: tem vs tha
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tem" for "tha" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "tem" or "tha" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "tha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #5,554 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tem" and "tha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tem vs tif". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #5,554 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.