Which to use
“tenha” is a verb and “tensão” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #369
- “tenha” frequency rank
- #2,913
- “tensão” frequency rank
- 3282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenha | tensão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira pessoa do singular do presente do conjuntivo do verbo ter | o ato ou efeito de esticar ou forçar algo ao seu limite |
Letter map: tenha vs tensão
Shared letters muted; letters that set tenha and tensão apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. tenha runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against tensão's 6 (CVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Part-of-speech tell for tenha / tensão
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tenha is averb and tensãoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenha is recorded at frequency rank #369, classified as averb. 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 3282, this pair ranks #71,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tenha vs tensão
Shared letters: ent. Private to "tenha": ah. Private to "tensão": osã.
"tenha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "tensão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tenha ← etnha · tehna · tenah · tenhha · tennha · tneha · ttenha
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenha" for "tensão" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tenha" vs "tensão" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "tenha" and "tensão".
- Full dictionary entry for "tenha" 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 #71,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenha" and "tensão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tengo vs tensão". 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 #71,884 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.