tengovstinoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tengo is a verb, tino is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tengo” is a verb and “tino” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,588
“tengo” frequency rank
#32,406
“tino” frequency rank
78994
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tengo tino
Definition primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo tener juízo, siso, razão

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
tengo
4 ch
tino

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tengo is averb and tinoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tengo is recorded at frequency rank #46,588, classified as averb. tino is at rank #32,406, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈti.nu/.

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 78994, this pair ranks #1,566 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tengo vs tino

Shared letters: not. Private to "tengo": eg. Private to "tino": i.

"tengo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "tino" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tengoetngo · tegno · tenggo · tenngo · tenog · tnego · ttengo
  • tinotinno · tion · tnio · ttino

Frequency comparison

tengo#46,588
tino#32,406

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tengo" and "tino" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tengo" is a verb and "tino" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tengo" or "tino"?
"tino" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,406 in our Portuguese list, against #46,588 for "tengo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tengo vs tino

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list