terásvsterçoWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: terás is a verb, terço is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“terás” is a verb and “terço” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,045
“terás” frequency rank
#6,716
“terço” frequency rank
34761
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature terás terço
Definition segunda pessoa do singular do futuro do indicativo do verbo ter uma das subdivisões do rosário cristão

Letter map: terás vs terço

Shared letters muted; letters that set terás and terço apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. terás (CVCVC) and terço (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
terás
5 ch
terço

Role in the sentence - terás and terço

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: terás is averb and terçoanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

terás is recorded at frequency rank #28,045, classified as averb. terço is at rank #6,716, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈteɾ.su/.

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 34761, this pair ranks #32,418 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of terás vs terço

Shared letters: ert. Private to "terás": sá. Private to "terço": oç.

"terás" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "terço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "terás" for "terço" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "terás" is a verb and "terço" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "terás" or "terço"?
"terço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,716 in our Portuguese list, against #28,045 for "terás". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "terás" and "terço". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "terás" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "terço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #32,418 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "terás" and "terço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tenaz vs terás". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #32,418 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list