Which to use
“tell” is a verb and “teme” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,770
- “tell” frequency rank
- #10,093
- “teme” frequency rank
- 19863
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tell | teme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | contar, narrar | anta; tapir, Tapirus terrestris |
Letter map: tell vs teme
Shared letters muted; letters that set tell and teme apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: tell vs teme
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tell is averb and temeanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tell is recorded at frequency rank #9,770, classified as averb. 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 19863, this pair ranks #50,770 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tell vs teme
Shared letters: et. Private to "tell": l. Private to "teme": m.
"tell" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "teme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tell" for "teme" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tell" or "teme" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "tell" and "teme".
- Full dictionary entry for "tell" 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 #50,770 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tell" and "teme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teme 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 #50,770 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.