Which to use
“tem” is a verb and “the” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33
- “tem” frequency rank
- #93
- “the” frequency rank
- 126
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tem | the |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ter | o (artigo definido masculino singular) |
Letter map: tem vs the
Shared letters muted; letters that set tem and the apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - tem and the
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tem is averb and theanarticle. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tem is recorded at frequency rank #33, classified as averb. the is at rank #93, tagged as anarticle, pronounced /ðə/ (fraco, ou antes de consoante); /ðiː/ (enfático, ou antes de vogal).
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 126, this pair ranks #75,534 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tem vs the
Shared letters: et. Private to "tem": m. Private to "the": h.
"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "the" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tem" and "the" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tem" vs "the" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pair "tem" vs "the" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "tem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "the" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,534 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tem" and "the" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tem vs trema". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,534 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.