treizevstresseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: treize is a adjective, tresse is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“treize” is an adjective and “tresse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,567
“treize” frequency rank
#30,847
“tresse” frequency rank
37414
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature treize tresse
Definition Douze plus un, adjectif numéral cardinal correspondant au nombre 13. Assemblage de petits cordons, de fils, de cheveux, etc. entrelacés.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set treize and tresse apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
treize
6 ch
tresse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: treize is \tʁɛz\ while tresse is \tʁɛs\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37414, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

treize is recorded at frequency rank #6,567, classified as anadj, pronounced \tʁɛz\. tresse is at rank #30,847, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tʁɛs\.

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 37414, this pair ranks #262,683 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of treize vs tresse

Shared letters: ert. Private to "treize": iz. Private to "tresse": s.

"treize" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "tresse" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • treizerteize · terize · treiez · treizze · trezie · trieze · trreize · ttreize
  • tressertesse · tersse · trese · treses · trresse · trsese · ttresse

Frequency comparison

treize#6,567
tresse#30,847

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "treize" and "tresse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "treize" is an adjective and "tresse" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "treize" or "tresse"?
"treize" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,567 in our French list, against #30,847 for "tresse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering treize vs tresse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “treize”; for a noun, it's “tresse”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “treize” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list