tengovstrigoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tengo is a verb, trigo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#46,588
“tengo” frequency rank
#7,348
“trigo” frequency rank
53936
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tengo trigo
Definition primeira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo tener de trigo; feito de trigo

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
tengo
5 ch
trigo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tengo is averb and trigoanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tengo is recorded at frequency rank #46,588, classified as averb. trigo is at rank #7,348, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈtɾi.ɡu/.

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 53936, this pair ranks #11,676 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tengo vs trigo

Shared letters: got. Private to "tengo": en. Private to "trigo": ir.

"tengo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "trigo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tengoetngo · tegno · tenggo · tenngo · tenog · tnego · ttengo
  • trigortigo · tirgo · trgio · triggo · triog · trrigo · ttrigo

Frequency comparison

tengo#46,588
trigo#7,348

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tengo" and "trigo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tengo" is a verb and "trigo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tengo" or "trigo"?
"trigo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,348 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 trigo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tengo”; for an adjective, it's “trigo”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list