Which to use
“tos” is a noun and “tre” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,234
- “tos” frequency rank
- #13,924
- “tre” frequency rank
- 62158
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tos | tre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Élève de première année à l’École polytechnique. | Trois. |
Where the eye mixes tos and tre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. tos (CVC) and tre (CCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses tos with tre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tos is \tos\ while tre is \ˈtɾɛ\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tos is recorded at frequency rank #48,234, classified as anoun, pronounced \tos\. tre is at rank #13,924, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈtɾɛ\.
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 62158, this pair ranks #88,560 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tos vs tre
Shared letters: t. Private to "tos": os. Private to "tre": er.
"tos" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tre" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tos" for "tre" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tos" or "tre"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #88,560 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tos" and "tre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tif vs tos". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #88,560 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.