tengo

verb

The verdict

“tengo” is a moderately-common Portuguese word, ranked #46,588 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a verb.

#46,588
frequency rank, Portuguese
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo tener

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tengo vs tens
60% similar
tengo vs Togo
40% similar
tengo vs tino
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tengo
PropertyValue
Headwordtengo
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechVerb
Letters5
Frequency rank#46,588
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tengo” sits in Portuguese frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). tengo lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for tengo is 5 letters long, classified as a verb. Corpus data places it at rank #46,588 in overall Portuguese word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo tener".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for tengo, with forms such as "etngo", "tegno", and "tenggo". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tens", "Togo", "tino", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct Portuguese form is tengo, spelled T-E-N-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo tener

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: etngo,tegno,tenggo,tenngo,tenog,tnego,ttengo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tengo - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

etngo2tegno2tenggo1tenngo1tenog2tnego2ttengo1
Edit distance from "tengo"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tengo"?
"tengo" is spelled T-E-N-G-O.
What does "tengo" mean?
As a verb, "tengo" means: primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo tener
What words are commonly confused with "tengo"?
"tengo" is commonly confused with "tens", "Togo", "tino". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "tengo" come from?
"tengo" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “tengo”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is T-E-N-G-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “tens” - see the side-by-side comparison. tengo vs tens
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list