Which to use
“tem” is a verb and “tri” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33
- “tem” frequency rank
- #14,982
- “tri” frequency rank
- 15015
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tem | tri |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ter | muito bom, legal; trilegal |
Letter map: tem vs tri
Shared letters muted; letters that set tem and tri apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Grammar separator: tem vs tri
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tem is averb and trianadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tem is recorded at frequency rank #33, classified as averb. tri is at rank #14,982, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈtɾi/.
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 15015, this pair ranks #56,938 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tem vs tri
Shared letters: t. Private to "tem": em. Private to "tri": ir.
"tem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tri" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tem" and "tri" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tem" or "tri" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "tem" vs "tri" 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 "tri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,938 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tem" and "tri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "til vs tri". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #56,938 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.