Which to use
“tenez” and “tone” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,473
- “tenez” frequency rank
- #44,780
- “tone” frequency rank
- 53253
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenez | tone |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de tenir. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de tonen. |
Where the eye mixes tenez and tone
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tenez vs tone
A purely visual mix-up. tenez (\tə.ne\) and tone (\ˈtoːnə\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53253, 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\. tone is at rank #44,780, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈtoːnə\.
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 53253, this pair ranks #142,041 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tenez vs tone
Shared letters: ent. Private to "tenez": z. Private to "tone": o.
"tenez" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tone" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tenez" and "tone" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "tenez" vs "tone" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tenez" and "tone" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,041 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenez" and "tone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tone vs tun". 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 #142,041 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.