tempevstendeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,706
“tempe” frequency rank
#37,580
“tende” frequency rank
61286
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tempe tende
Definition Partie latérale de la tête entre l’oreille et le front. → voir tende de tranche.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tempe and tende apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
tempe
5 ch
tende

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tempe (\tɑ̃p\) and tende (\tɑ̃d\) 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 61286, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tempe is recorded at frequency rank #23,706, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃p\. tende is at rank #37,580, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃d\.

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 61286, this pair ranks #93,064 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tempe vs tende

Shared letters: et. Private to "tempe": mp. Private to "tende": dn.

"tempe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "tende" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tempeetmpe · temep · temmpe · temppe · tepme · tmepe · ttempe
  • tendeetnde · tedne · tendde · tened · tennde · tnede · ttende

Frequency comparison

tempe#23,706
tende#37,580

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tempe" and "tende" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tɑ̃p\ versus \tɑ̃d\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tempe" or "tende"?
"tempe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,706 in our French list, against #37,580 for "tende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tempe vs tende

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 “tempe” 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