Which to use
“tão” is an adverb and “tem” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #119
- “tão” frequency rank
- #33
- “tem” frequency rank
- 152
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tão | tem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tanto, com tal intensidade | terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ter |
Letter map: tão vs tem
Shared letters muted; letters that set tão and tem apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. tão (CVV) and tem (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Part-of-speech tell for tão / tem
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tão is anadverb and temaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tão is recorded at frequency rank #119, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈtɐ̃w̃/. 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 152, this pair ranks #75,500 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tão vs tem
Shared letters: t. Private to "tão": oã. Private to "tem": em.
"tão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tão" for "tem" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tão" vs "tem" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've compared "tão" and "tem". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "tão" 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 #75,500 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tão" and "tem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tão vs tufo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,500 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.