terçovstraçoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“terço” and “traço” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,716
“terço” frequency rank
#11,759
“traço” frequency rank
18475
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature terço traço
Definition uma das subdivisões do rosário cristão uma marca, sinal, ou evidência da existência, influência ou ação de algum agente ou evento; vestígio

Letter map: terço vs traço

Shared letters muted; letters that set terço and traço apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

5 ch
terço
5 ch
traço

Spelling & dictionary notes on terço vs traço

terço and traço are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

terço is recorded at frequency rank #6,716, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈteɾ.su/. traço is at rank #11,759, tagged as anoun.

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 18475, this pair ranks #52,503 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of terço vs traço

Shared letters: ortç. Private to "terço": e. Private to "traço": a.

"terço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "traço" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "terço" and "traço" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "terço" or "traço"?
"terço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,716 in our Portuguese list, against #11,759 for "traço". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "terço" and "traço".

  • Full dictionary entry for "terço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "traço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #52,503 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "terço" and "traço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "traço vs travão". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #52,503 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