Which to use
“tenace” is an adjective and “tende” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,698
- “tenace” frequency rank
- #37,580
- “tende” frequency rank
- 57278
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenace | tende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est adhérent ; qui tient fortement à quelque chose. | → voir tende de tranche. |
Where the eye mixes tenace and tende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tenace runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against tende's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tenace vs tende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tenace is \tə.nas\ while tende is \tɑ̃d\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenace is recorded at frequency rank #19,698, classified as anadj, pronounced \tə.nas\. 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 57278, this pair ranks #116,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tenace vs tende
Shared letters: ent. Private to "tenace": ac. Private to "tende": d.
"tenace" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "tende" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenace" for "tende" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tenace" vs "tende" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #116,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenace" and "tende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tende vs tender". 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 #116,024 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.