tensão vs tento, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“tensão” is a noun and “tento” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,913
“tensão” frequency rank: #4,187
“tento” frequency rank: 7100
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	tensão	tento
Definition	o ato ou efeito de esticar ou forçar algo ao seu limite	este / esta / isto

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tensão and tento apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

tensão

5 ch

tento

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tensão is anoun and tentoapronoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7100, 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/. tento is at rank #4,187, tagged as apron.

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 7100, this pair ranks #67,132 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tensão vs tento

Shared letters: enot. Private to "tensão": sã. Private to "tento": -.

"tensão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "tento" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

tento ← etnto · tennto · tenot · tentto · tetno · tneto · ttento

Frequency comparison

tensão#2,913

tento#4,187

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tensão" and "tento" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tensão" is a noun and "tento" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "tensão" or "tento"?

"tensão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,913 in our Portuguese list, against #4,187 for "tento". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tensão vs tento

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tensão”; for a pronoun, it's “tento”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tensão” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable