tempvstempesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,891
“temp” frequency rank
#46,482
“tempes” frequency rank
73373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature temp tempes
Definition Intérimaire (suppléant, employé embauché pour une courte durée). Pluriel de tempe.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set temp and tempes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
temp
6 ch
tempes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. temp (\tɛmp\) and tempes (\tɑ̃p\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “temp” sits inside “tempes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

temp is recorded at frequency rank #26,891, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɛmp\. tempes is at rank #46,482, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃p\.

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 73373, this pair ranks #40,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of temp vs tempes

Shared letters: empt. Private to "temp": -. Private to "tempes": s.

"temp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "tempes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tempetmp · temmp · tempp · tepm · tmep · ttemp
  • tempesetmpes · temeps · temmpes · tempess · temppes · tempse · tepmes · tmepes

Frequency comparison

temp#26,891
tempes#46,482

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "temp" and "tempes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tɛmp\ versus \tɑ̃p\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "temp" or "tempes"?
"temp" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,891 in our French list, against #46,482 for "tempes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering temp vs tempes

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 “temp” 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