Which to use
“tem” is a verb and “tome” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,481
- “tem” frequency rank
- #2,801
- “tome” frequency rank
- 49282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tem | tome |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ter. | Division intellectuelle d’un ouvrage, correspondant ou pas avec un volume. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tem and tome 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 tome is \tom\. 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 49282, 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\. tome is at rank #2,801, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tom\.
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 49282, this pair ranks #171,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tem vs tome
Shared letters: emt. Private to "tem": -. Private to "tome": o.
"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tome" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tome ← otme · tmoe · toem · tomme · ttome
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tem" and "tome" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tem" or "tome"?
Remembering tem vs tome
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 “tome”.
- 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