Which to use
“temps” is a noun and “tends” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #89
- “temps” frequency rank
- #30,000
- “tends” frequency rank
- 30089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | temps | tends |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Durée des choses, marquée par certaines périodes, et principalement par la révolution apparente du soleil ; écart entre le déroulement de deux événements. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de tendre. |
Same sound, different letters: temps vs tends
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: temps and tends carry the same recorded pronunciation, \tɑ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
temps is recorded at frequency rank #89, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃\. tends is at rank #30,000, tagged as averb, pronounced \tɑ̃\.
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 30089, this pair ranks #312,544 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of temps vs tends
Shared letters: est. Private to "temps": mp. Private to "tends": dn.
"temps" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "tends" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC