Which to use
“tema” and “tese” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #840
- “tema” frequency rank
- #3,647
- “tese” frequency rank
- 4487
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tema | tese |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | assunto | enunciado que é exposto em um debate e defendido, se refutado |
Where the eye mixes tema and tese
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tema with tese
A purely visual mix-up. tema (/ˈte.mɐ/) and tese (/ˈtɛ.zi/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tema is recorded at frequency rank #840, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈte.mɐ/. tese is at rank #3,647, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɛ.zi/.
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 4487, this pair ranks #70,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tema vs tese
Shared letters: et. Private to "tema": am. Private to "tese": s.
"tema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tese" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tema" for "tese" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tema" vs "tese" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tese" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tema" and "tese" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tese vs tosa". 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 #70,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.