tem vs til, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“tem” is a verb and “til” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33
“tem” frequency rank: #44,136
“til” frequency rank: 44169
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	tem	til
Definition	terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ter	sinal diacrítico (~) utilizado para modificar a pronúncia de determinadas letras no português (indicando nasalização) e em alguns outros idiomas ( bretão ...)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tem and til apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

tem

3 ch

til

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tem is averb and tilanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44169, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tem is recorded at frequency rank #33, classified as averb. til is at rank #44,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʧiw/.

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 44169, this pair ranks #21,373 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tem vs til

Shared letters: t. Private to "tem": em. Private to "til": il.

"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "til" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

tem#33

til#44,136

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tem" and "til" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tem" is a verb and "til" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "tem" or "til"?

"tem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33 in our Portuguese list, against #44,136 for "til". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering tem vs til

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tem”; for a noun, it's “til”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tem” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable