tempesvsterresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,482
“tempes” frequency rank
#1,978
“terres” frequency rank
48460
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tempes terres
Definition Pluriel de tempe. Pluriel de terre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
tempes
6 ch
terres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tempes (\tɑ̃p\) and terres (\tɛʁ\) 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 48460, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tempes is recorded at frequency rank #46,482, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃p\. terres is at rank #1,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛʁ\.

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 48460, this pair ranks #178,740 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tempes vs terres

Shared letters: est. Private to "tempes": mp. Private to "terres": r.

"tempes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "terres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tempesetmpes · temeps · temmpes · tempess · temppes · tempse · tepmes · tmepes
  • terresetrres · terers · teres · terress · terrse · treres · tterres

Frequency comparison

tempes#46,482
terres#1,978

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tempes" and "terres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tɑ̃p\ versus \tɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tempes" or "terres"?
"terres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,978 in our French list, against #46,482 for "tempes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering tempes vs terres

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 “tempes” 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