Which to use
“tem” is a verb and “tma” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,481
- “tem” frequency rank
- #48,830
- “tma” frequency rank
- 95311
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tem | tma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ter. | Obscurité, ténèbres. |
Where the eye mixes tem and tma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tem (CVC) and tma (CCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: tem vs tma
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tem is \tɐ̃j\ while tma is \tma\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95311, 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\. tma is at rank #48,830, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tma\.
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 95311, this pair ranks #1,145 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tem vs tma
Shared letters: mt. Private to "tem": e. Private to "tma": a.
"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tma" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tem" for "tma" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tem" or "tma"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,145 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tem" and "tma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tif vs tma". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,145 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.