Which to use
“tre” and “três” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,981
- “tre” frequency rank
- #167
- “três” frequency rank
- 15148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tre | três |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | três | número equivalente a dois mais um; cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha dois elementos e outro elemento distinto; representado pelo símbolo 3 (algarismos arábicos) ou III (algarismos romanos) |
Where the eye mixes tre and três
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tre with três
A purely visual mix-up. tre (/tre/) and três (/ˈtɾeʃ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tre is recorded at frequency rank #14,981, classified as anum, pronounced /tre/. três is at rank #167, tagged as anum, pronounced /ˈtɾeʃ/.
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 15148, this pair ranks #56,752 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tre vs três
Shared letters: rt. Private to "tre": e. Private to "três": sê.
"tre" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "três" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tre" for "três" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tre" or "três" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "três" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,752 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tre" and "três" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tre vs trema". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #56,752 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.