Which to use
“ter” is a verb and “til” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #60
- “ter” frequency rank
- #44,136
- “til” frequency rank
- 44196
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ter | til |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | acompanhado de verbo no particípio regular, indica ação passada | sinal diacrítico (~) utilizado para modificar a pronúncia de determinadas letras no português (indicando nasalização) e em alguns outros idiomas ( bretão ...) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ter and til apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
ter and til form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ter is recorded at frequency rank #60, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈteɹ/. til is at rank #44,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʧiw/.
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 44196, this pair ranks #21,332 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ter" and "til" be used interchangeably?
Remembering ter vs til
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ter”; for a noun, it's “til”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ter” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable