tensvstuneWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#2,447
“tens” frequency rank
#44,150
“tune” frequency rank
46597
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tens tune
Definition segunda pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo ter canção, melodia, música

Letter map: tens vs tune

Shared letters muted; letters that set tens and tune apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
tens
4 ch
tune

Part-of-speech tell for tens / tune

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tens is averb and tuneanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tens is recorded at frequency rank #2,447, classified as averb. tune is at rank #44,150, tagged as anoun.

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 46597, this pair ranks #18,702 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tens vs tune

Shared letters: ent. Private to "tens": s. Private to "tune": u.

"tens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "tune" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tensetns · tenns · tenss · tesn · tnes · ttens
  • tunetnue · ttune · tuen · tunne · utne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tens" for "tune" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tens" is a verb and "tune" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "tens" vs "tune" - which ranks higher?
"tens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,447 in our Portuguese list, against #44,150 for "tune". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "tens" and "tune".

  • Full dictionary entry for "tens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tune" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #18,702 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tens" and "tune" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tufo vs tune". 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 #18,702 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list