Which to use
“tenaz” is an adjective and “tengo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,239
- “tenaz” frequency rank
- #46,588
- “tengo” frequency rank
- 88827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenaz | tengo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | muito aderente | primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo tener |
Letter map: tenaz vs tengo
Shared letters muted; letters that set tenaz and tengo apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. tenaz (CVCVC) and tengo (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Role in the sentence - tenaz and tengo
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tenaz is anadjective and tengoaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenaz is recorded at frequency rank #42,239, classified as anadj, pronounced /tɨ.ˈnaʃ/. tengo is at rank #46,588, tagged as averb.
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 88827, this pair ranks #377 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tenaz vs tengo
Shared letters: ent. Private to "tenaz": az. Private to "tengo": go.
"tenaz" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tengo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenaz" for "tengo" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tenaz" or "tengo"?
What to do next
Pair "tenaz" vs "tengo" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenaz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tengo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #377 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenaz" and "tengo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teco vs tengo". 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 #377 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.