Which to use
“tensão” is a noun and “tenso” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,913
- “tensão” frequency rank
- #11,362
- “tenso” frequency rank
- 14275
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tensão | tenso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o ato ou efeito de esticar ou forçar algo ao seu limite | que está sob tensão; em que há tensão |
Letter map: tensão vs tenso
Shared letters muted; letters that set tensão and tenso apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. tensão runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against tenso's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: tensão vs tenso
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tensão is anoun and tensoanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tensão is recorded at frequency rank #2,913, classified as anoun, pronounced /tẽ.ˈsɐ.ɐ̃w̃/. tenso is at rank #11,362, tagged as anadj.
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 14275, this pair ranks #57,872 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tensão vs tenso
Shared letters: enost. Private to "tensão": ã. Private to "tenso": -.
"tensão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "tenso" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tenso ← etnso · tennso · tenos · tensso · tesno · tneso · ttenso
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tensão" for "tenso" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tensão" or "tenso"?
After this comparison
You've compared "tensão" and "tenso". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "tensão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tenso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,872 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tensão" and "tenso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tengo vs tenso". 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 #57,872 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.