Which to use
“them” is a pronoun and “tres” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,759
- “them” frequency rank
- #34,943
- “tres” frequency rank
- 50702
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | them | tres |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personalpronomen 3. Person Plural Objektform: ihnen, sie | sechzig |
Where the eye mixes them and tres
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. them and tres follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between them and tres
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: them is [ðɛm] while tres is [tʀɛs]. 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 (pronoun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
them is recorded at frequency rank #15,759, classified as apron, pronounced [ðɛm]. tres is at rank #34,943, tagged as anum, pronounced [tʀɛs].
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 50702, this pair ranks #1,163,734 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of them vs tres
Shared letters: et. Private to "them": hm. Private to "tres": rs.
"them" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "tres" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "them" for "tres" ever safe?
Frequency check: "them" vs "tres" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "them" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,163,734 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "them" and "tres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tres 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 #1,163,734 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.