tchêvstemeWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: tchê is a intj, teme is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tchê” is an intj and “teme” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,803
“tchê” frequency rank
#10,093
“teme” frequency rank
50896
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tchê teme
Definition usada para chamar ou deter alguém, ou para chamar sua atenção anta; tapir, Tapirus terrestris

Where the eye mixes tchê and teme

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. tchê (CCCV) and teme (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
tchê
4 ch
teme

Why the eye confuses tchê with teme

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tchê is /tʃe/ while teme is /ˈtɛ.mɛ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tchê is recorded at frequency rank #40,803, classified as anintj, pronounced /tʃe/. teme is at rank #10,093, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɛ.mɛ/.

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 50896, this pair ranks #14,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tchê vs teme

Shared letters: t. Private to "tchê": chê. Private to "teme": em.

"tchê" · 4 letters · shape CCCV  ·  "teme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • teme ← etme · temme · tmee · tteme

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tchê" and "teme" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tchê" is an intj and "teme" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "tchê" vs "teme" - which ranks higher?
"teme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,093 in our Portuguese list, against #40,803 for "tchê". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tchê" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "teme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #14,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tchê" and "teme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tchê vs tune". 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 #14,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list