Which to use
“tak” is a particle and “tem” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,692
- “tak” frequency rank
- #33
- “tem” frequency rank
- 42725
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tak | tem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sim | terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ter |
Letter map: tak vs tem
Shared letters muted; letters that set tak and tem apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Part-of-speech tell for tak / tem
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tak is aparticle and temaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tak is recorded at frequency rank #42,692, classified as aparticle. tem is at rank #33, tagged as averb.
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 42725, this pair ranks #23,019 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tak vs tem
Shared letters: t. Private to "tak": ak. Private to "tem": em.
"tak" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tak" for "tem" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tak" vs "tem" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "tak" vs "tem" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "tak" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,019 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tak" and "tem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tak vs til". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #23,019 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.