Which to use
“the” is an article and “Tor” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #93
- “the” frequency rank
- #19,869
- “Tor” frequency rank
- 19962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | the | Tor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o (artigo definido masculino singular) | portão, porta |
Where the eye mixes the and Tor
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses the with Tor
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: the is /ðə/ (fraco, ou antes de consoante); /ðiː/ (enfático, ou antes de vogal) while Tor is /toːɐ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?). 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 (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
the is recorded at frequency rank #93, classified as anarticle, pronounced /ðə/ (fraco, ou antes de consoante); /ðiː/ (enfático, ou antes de vogal). Tor is at rank #19,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced /toːɐ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 19962, this pair ranks #50,645 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of the vs Tor
Shared letters: t. Private to "the": eh. Private to "Tor": or.
"the" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "Tor" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "the" for "Tor" ever safe?
Which is more common, "the" or "Tor"?
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 "the" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Tor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #50,645 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "the" and "Tor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tor vs tosa". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #50,645 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.