Which to use
“tênis” and “tenor” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,294
- “tênis” frequency rank
- #33,636
- “tenor” frequency rank
- 36930
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tênis | tenor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | desporto individual (ou de duplas) no qual os jogadores enviam um ao outro uma pequena bola, com ajuda de raquetes por sobre uma rede que divide a quadra de jogo | a voz mais aguda dum homem |
Where the eye mixes tênis and tenor
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. tênis and tenor follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between tênis and tenor
A purely visual mix-up. tênis (/ˈte.nis/) and tenor (/tɨ.ˈnoɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36930, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tênis is recorded at frequency rank #3,294, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈte.nis/. tenor is at rank #33,636, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɨ.ˈnoɾ/.
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 36930, this pair ranks #29,786 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tênis vs tenor
Shared letters: nt. Private to "tênis": isê. Private to "tenor": eor.
"tênis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tenor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tenor ← etnor · tennor · tenorr · teonr · tneor · ttenor
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tênis" and "tenor" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tênis" or "tenor" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "tênis" and "tenor" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tênis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tenor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,786 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tênis" and "tenor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tengo vs tenor". 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 #29,786 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.