tenaz vs tensão, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“tenaz” is an adjective and “tensão” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,239
“tenaz” frequency rank: #2,913
“tensão” frequency rank: 45152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	tenaz	tensão
Definition	muito aderente	o ato ou efeito de esticar ou forçar algo ao seu limite

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tenaz and tensão apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

tenaz

6 ch

tensão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tenaz is /tɨ.ˈnaʃ/ while tensão is /tẽ.ˈsɐ.ɐ̃w̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45152, 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/. tensão is at rank #2,913, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tẽ.ˈsɐ.ɐ̃w̃/.

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 45152, this pair ranks #20,267 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tenaz vs tensão

Shared letters: ent. Private to "tenaz": az. Private to "tensão": osã.

"tenaz" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tensão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

tenaz ← etnaz · teanz · tenazz · tennaz · tenza · tneaz · ttenaz

Frequency comparison

tenaz#42,239

tensão#2,913

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tenaz" and "tensão" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tenaz" is an adjective and "tensão" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "tenaz" or "tensão"?

"tensão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,913 in our Portuguese list, against #42,239 for "tenaz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering tenaz vs tensão

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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