Which to use
“tenez” and “tirez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,473
- “tenez” frequency rank
- #20,867
- “tirez” frequency rank
- 29340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenez | tirez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de tenir. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de tirer. |
Where the eye mixes tenez and tirez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tenez and tirez
A purely visual mix-up. tenez (\tə.ne\) and tirez (\ti.ʁe\) 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 29340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenez is recorded at frequency rank #8,473, classified as averb, pronounced \tə.ne\. tirez is at rank #20,867, tagged as averb, pronounced \ti.ʁe\.
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 29340, this pair ranks #317,291 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tenez vs tirez
Shared letters: etz. Private to "tenez": n. Private to "tirez": ir.
"tenez" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tirez" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tenez" and "tirez" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "tenez" vs "tirez" - 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 "tenez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tirez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,291 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenez" and "tirez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tirez vs titrer". 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 #317,291 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.