Which to use
“tendão” and “tensão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,401
- “tendão” frequency rank
- #2,913
- “tensão” frequency rank
- 35314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tendão | tensão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | cordão fibroso, formado por tecido conjuntivo, graças ao qual os músculos se inserem nos ossos ou nos outros órgãos | o ato ou efeito de esticar ou forçar algo ao seu limite |
Where the eye mixes tendão and tensão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tendão and tensão follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses tendão with tensão
A purely visual mix-up. tendão (/tẽ.ˈdɐ̃w̃/) and tensão (/tẽ.ˈsɐ.ɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - d in “tendão” becomes s in “tensão”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tendão is recorded at frequency rank #32,401, classified as anoun, pronounced /tẽ.ˈdɐ̃w̃/. 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 35314, this pair ranks #31,738 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tendão vs tensão
Shared letters: enotã. Private to "tendão": d. Private to "tensão": s.
"tendão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "tensão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tendão" and "tensão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tendão" or "tensão"?
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 "tendão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tensão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,738 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tendão" and "tensão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tendão vs tengo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #31,738 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.