Which to use
“tenir” and “ternir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,099
- “tenir” frequency rank
- #36,616
- “ternir” frequency rank
- 37715
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenir | ternir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Garder fermement dans la main ou dans les mains. | Rendre terne, ôter ou diminuer l’éclat de quelque chose. |
Where the eye mixes tenir and ternir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tenir runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against ternir's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tenir and ternir
A purely visual mix-up. tenir (\tə.niʁ\) and ternir (\tɛʁ.niʁ\) 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 37715, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenir is recorded at frequency rank #1,099, classified as averb, pronounced \tə.niʁ\. ternir is at rank #36,616, tagged as averb, pronounced \tɛʁ.niʁ\.
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 37715, this pair ranks #260,466 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tenir vs ternir
Shared letters: einrt. Private to "tenir": -. Private to "ternir": -.
"tenir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "ternir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenir" for "ternir" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tenir" vs "ternir" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ternir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #260,466 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenir" and "ternir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ternir vs terror". 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 #260,466 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.