Which to use
“tela” is a noun and “tem” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,952
- “tela” frequency rank
- #33
- “tem” frequency rank
- 1985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tela | tem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tecido de lã, linho, seda, etc. | terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ter |
Letter map: tela vs tem
Shared letters muted; letters that set tela and tem apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: tela vs tem
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tela is anoun and temaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tela is recorded at frequency rank #1,952, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɛ.lɐ/. 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 1985, this pair ranks #73,516 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tela vs tem
Shared letters: et. Private to "tela": al. Private to "tem": m.
"tela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tela ← etla · teal · tella · tlea · ttela
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tela" and "tem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tela" or "tem"?
After this comparison
Pair "tela" vs "tem" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "tela" 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 #73,516 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tela" and "tem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tela vs trema". 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 #73,516 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.