Which to use
“tempes” and “thèmes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,482
- “tempes” frequency rank
- #4,103
- “thèmes” frequency rank
- 50585
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tempes | thèmes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de tempe. | Pluriel de thème. |
Where the eye mixes tempes and thèmes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tempes (CVCCVC) and thèmes (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: tempes vs thèmes
A purely visual mix-up. tempes (\tɑ̃p\) and thèmes (\tɛm\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50585, 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\. thèmes is at rank #4,103, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛm\.
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 50585, this pair ranks #161,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tempes vs thèmes
Shared letters: emst. Private to "tempes": p. Private to "thèmes": hè.
"tempes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "thèmes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tempes ← etmpes · temeps · temmpes · tempess · temppes · tempse · tepmes · tmepes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tempes" for "thèmes" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "tempes" or "thèmes" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tempes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thèmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tempes" and "thèmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tempes vs trempés". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #161,508 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.