Which to use
“three” is a num and “thrice” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #164
- “three” frequency rank
- #24,338
- “thrice” frequency rank
- 24502
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | three | thrice |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A numerical value after two and before four. Represented in Arabic digits as 3; this many dots (•••). | Three times. |
Where the eye mixes three and thrice
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between three and thrice
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: three is /θɹiː/ while thrice is /θɹaɪs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
three is recorded at frequency rank #164, classified as anum, pronounced /θɹiː/. thrice is at rank #24,338, tagged as anadv, pronounced /θɹaɪs/.
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 24502, this pair ranks #401,456 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of three vs thrice
Shared letters: ehrt. Private to "three": -. Private to "thrice": ci.
"three" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV · "thrice" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "three" for "thrice" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "three" or "thrice" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "three" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thrice" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #401,456 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "three" and "thrice" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thicc vs thrice". 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 #401,456 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.