Which to use
“terme” is a noun and “three” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,297
- “terme” frequency rank
- #14,431
- “three” frequency rank
- 63728
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | terme | three |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Begriff, Wort | drei |
Where the eye mixes terme and three
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. terme (CVCCV) and three (CCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: terme vs three
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: terme is [tɛʁm] while three is [θɹiː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
terme is recorded at frequency rank #49,297, classified as anoun, pronounced [tɛʁm]. three is at rank #14,431, tagged as anum, pronounced [θɹiː].
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 63728, this pair ranks #666,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of terme vs three
Shared letters: ert. Private to "terme": m. Private to "three": h.
"terme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "three" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "terme" for "three" ever safe?
Which is more common, "terme" or "three"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "terme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "three" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #666,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "terme" and "three" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "terme vs Turmes". 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 #666,428 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.