tres

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tres"

Languages (32)

English

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Albanian • Aragonese • Asturian • Catalan • Central Bikol • Chavacano • Danish • Extremaduran • Fala • Galician • Ilocano • Indonesian • Interlingua • Kabuverdianu • Kristang • Ladino • Latin • Middle English • Middle French • Norwegian Bokmål • Occitan • Old Galician-Portuguese • Old Occitan • Old Spanish • Papiamentu • Polish • Portuguese • Romansh • Sardinian • Spanish • Tagalog

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Page categories

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish tres (“three”). Doublet of three and trey.

Noun

tres (plural treses)

1. (music) A three-course stringed instrument similar to a guitar; the Cuban variant has six strings, and the Puerto Rican has nine.

Derived terms

• tresero

Related terms

• tres leches
• tres-tine

Translations

guitar-like instrument

• Spanish: tres cubano m, tres (es) m

See also

• Appendix:Glossary of chordophones

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

tres

1. plural of tre

Anagrams

• Rest., 'rest, rest., REST, -ster, ERTs, rets, erst, rest, RETs, TERs, SERT, estr-, -estr-

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *trōtja, etymologically identical with Proto-Slavic *trǫtja (“to spend, waste”).

Verb

tres (aorist treta, participle tretur)

1. to dissolve, digest, melt down, lose weight
2. to throw away

Derived terms

• tretje

Aragonese

Aragonese numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tres     Ordinal: tercero

Etymology

Inherited from Latin trēs (“three”). Cognates include Spanish tres and Catalan tres.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: tres

Numeral

tres

1. three

References

• Juan Pablo Martínez Cortés et al. (2021), Gramatica basica de l'aragonés, Zaragoza: University of Zaragoza Press, page 121
• Martínez Tur, Feliciano; Rodés Orquín, Francho (2022), “tres”, in Diccionario aragonés-castellano-catalán‎^[1], Zaragoza, Spain: Estudio de Filolochía Aragonesa, Edicions Dichitals de l’Academia de l’Aragonés, published April 2025, →ISSN, page 1113

Asturian

Asturian cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : tres     Ordinal : terceru

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɾes/ [t̪ɾes]
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: tres

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Asturian tres

From Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Numeral

tres (indeclinable)

1. three

Usage notes

When there is possibility of confusion with the preposition tres, the numeral tres is accented as trés

Etymology 2

From Latin trāns (“beyond, on the other side”). Compare Spanish tras.

Preposition

tres

1. behind, beyond
2. after

Further reading

• García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2002–2004), “tres”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (overall work in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
• “tres”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Catalan

Catalan numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tres     Ordinal: tercer     Ordinal abbreviation: 3r     Multiplier: triple     Fractional: terç
Catalan Wikipedia article on 3

Etymology

Inherited from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Cognates include Occitan and Spanish tres, Italian tre, French trois.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈtɾe̞s]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈtɾəs]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈtɾɛs]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈtɾes]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛs

Numeral

tres m or f

1. (cardinal number) three

Derived terms

• tenir en cap a tres quarts de quinze (“be absent-minded or crazy”)
• en un tres i no res
• buscar tres peus al gat (“search for all the inconveniences”)

Noun

tres m (plural tresos)

1. three
2. (castells) a castell with three castellers on each level of the tronc

Further reading

• “tres”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Central Bikol

Central Bikol numbers ^(edit)

	30[a], [b]
[a], [b] ←  2	3	4  → [a], [b]
Cardinal: tulo, tres     Ordinal: ikatulo, tersero

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Spanish tresbor.

Central Bikol tres

Borrowed from Spanish tres.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/ [ˈtɾes]
• Hyphenation: tres

Numeral

tres (Basahan spelling ᜆ᜔ᜍᜒᜐ᜔)

1. three

   Synonym: tulo

Derived terms

• tersero, terser
• tres siyentos
• trese
• treynta

Chavacano

Chavacano numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tres     Ordinal: aca-tres, ika-tres, tercer, tercera, tercero     Apocopated ordinal: tercer     Multiplier: triple     Collective: trio

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish tres (“three”).

Numeral

tres

1. three

Related terms

• trece
• treinta

Danish

Danish numbers ^(edit)

←  50	←  59	60	61  →	70  →
		6
Cardinal: tres     Ordinal: tresindstyvende
Danish Wikipedia article on 60

Etymology

Clipping of tresindstyve.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtres/, [ˈtˢʁ̥æs]
• Rhymes: -as

Numeral

tres

1. sixty

   Synonyms: tresindstyve, seksti

Related terms

• tressende (“sixtieth”)
• tresser (“sixties”)
• tresindstyvende (“sixtieth”)

Descendants

• → Faroese: trýss

References

• “tres” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “tres” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

Extremaduran

Etymology

Akin to Spanish, from Latin.

Numeral

tres

1. three

Fala

Fala numbers ^(edit)

←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tres     Ordinal: terceiru

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese tres, from Latin trēs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/
• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: tres

Numeral

tres

1. three

Further reading

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021), Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web), 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN, page 273

Galician

Galician numbers ^(edit)

	30
[a], [b], [c] ←  2	3	4  → [a], [b]
Cardinal (standard): tres     Cardinal (reintegrationist): três     Ordinal: terceiro     Ordinal abbreviation: 3º     Multiplier: triplo     Fractional (standard): terzo     Fractional (reintegrationist): terço
Galician Wikipedia article on 3

Alternative forms

• três (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese tres, from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/ [ˈt̪ɾes̺]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -es
• Hyphenation: tres

Numeral

tres (indeclinable)

1. three

Further reading

• “tres”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Ilocano

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Spanish tresbor.

Ilocano tres

Borrowed from Spanish tres.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/ [ˈtɾes]
• Hyphenation: tres

Numeral

tres (Kur-itan spelling ᜆ᜔ᜎᜒᜐ᜔)

1. three

   Synonym: tallo

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Dutch tres, from French tresse, from Old French tresce, of uncertain origin; possibly from Vulgar Latin *trichia < Ancient Greek.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈtrɛs/ [ˈt̪rɛs]
• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Syllabification: tres

Noun

tres (plural tres-tres)

1. (fashion) tress, braid, plait

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English trace, from Middle English trace, traas, from Old French trace (“an outline, track, trace”)

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈtrɛs/ [ˈt̪rɛs]
• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Syllabification: tres

Noun

tres (plural tres-tres)

1. (mathematics) trace (the sum of the diagonal elements of a square matrix)

Further reading

• “tres”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Interlingua

Numeral

tres

1. three

Kabuverdianu

Kabuverdianu cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : tres

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Old Galician-Portuguese tres

Portuguese trêsder.

Kabuverdianu tres

From Portuguese três.

Numeral

tres

1. three (3)

Kristang

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Old Galician-Portuguese tres

Portuguese trêsder.

Kristang tres

From Portuguese tres, from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Numeral

tres

1. three

Ladino

Alternative forms

• trez

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish tres (“three”), from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Istanbul):

  (file)

Numeral

tres (Hebrew spelling טריס)

1. three (3) [ca. 1510]
   • 2006, Matilda Koén-Sarano, Por el plazer de kontar‎^[2], page 417:

     “No… aspera…tengo aínda sesh… sinko…tres…dos… mezes para arivar a sesenta anyos. No mires ke tengo los kaveyos blankos!”

     “No… wait… I still have six… five… three… two… months before I am sixty years old. Don’t look [at me like] I have grey hair!”

Related terms

• terser
• tersio
• tredje
• trenta
• triple

Latin

Latin numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	III 3	4  →
Cardinal: trēs     Ordinal: tertius     Adverbial: ter     Proportional: triplus     Multiplier: triplex     Distributive: ternus, trīnus     Collective: terniō     Fractional: triēns

Alternative forms

• tris
• Symbol: III

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

From Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Cognates include Sanskrit त्रि (trí), Ancient Greek τρεῖς (treîs) and Old English þrēo (English three).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtreːs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈtrɛs]

Numeral

Cerberus canis trium capitum est (Cerberus is a three-headed dog).

trēs (neuter tria); third-declension two-termination numeral, plural only

1. three; 3
   • 8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 4.450–451:

     tria Cerberus extulit ora et tres latratus semel edidit

     Cerberus put forth three mouths and issued three barks at once

   • c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Samuelis II.14.27:

     nati sunt autem Absalom filii tres et filia una nomine Thamar eleganti forma

     And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance

Usage notes

See Appendix:Latin cardinal numbers

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective, plural only.

	plural
	masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	trēs	tria
genitive	trium
dative	tribus
accusative	trīs trēs	tria
ablative	tribus
vocative	trēs	tria

• Trifos is an old ablative form.

Derived terms

• trēsvirī
• tri-
• tria nōmina
• triālis
• triālitas
• triambī
• trīduum
• triennālis
• trihōrium
• trimēstris
• trīmulus
• trīmus
• trīnitās
• triplex
• triplus

Related terms

• tertiārius
• tertius
• trias
• triplex

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: trei
  • Istro-Romanian: trei
  • Megleno-Romanian: trei
  • Romanian: trei
• Dalmatian:
  • tra
• Italo-Romance:
  • Corsican: trè
  • Italian: tre
  • Neapolitan: tre, tréje
  • Sicilian: tri
• North Italian:
  • Emilian: trî
  • Friulian: trê
  • Ladin: trei
  • Ligurian: (Genoa) tréi, træ, (Monaco) trei, tre
  • Romagnol: tri, trẹ (San Marino)
  • Romansh: trais
  • Venetan: tre
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: três
  • Old French: trois, treis (12th c., or Anglo-Norman), troys, trei, troi, troy
    • Middle French: troys
      • French: trois
        • Guianese Creole: trwa
        • Haitian Creole: twa
        • Louisiana Creole: trò, trwa
        • Mauritian Creole: trwa
        • Michif: trwaa
        • Réunion Creole French: troi, trwa
    • Norman: trais
    • Walloon: troes
    • → Middle English: trey, trais, tray, treis, treys, treyse
      • English: trey
• Occitano-Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: tres
  • Occitan: tres
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: tres
  • Old Leonese:
    • Asturian: tres
    • Leonese: trés
    • Mirandese: trés
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: tres
    • Fala: tres
    • Galician: tres
    • Portuguese: três
  • Old Spanish: tres
    • Ladino: trez
    • Spanish: tres
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: tres

See also

• Appendix:Latin cardinal numbers

Further reading

• “tres”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tres”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "tres", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) a word with you: tribus verbis te volo
    

Middle English

Noun

tres

1. plural of tre

Middle French

Adverb

tres

1. manuscript form of trés

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

tres

1. passive of tre (Etymologies 3 & 4)

Occitan

Occitan cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : tres     Ordinal : tresen

Etymology

From Old Occitan tres, from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tres

Numeral

tres

1. three

Related terms

• trenta
• tresen

Old Galician-Portuguese

Old Galician-Portuguese numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tres     Ordinal: terço, terçeiro     Fractional: terço

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Old Galician-Portuguese tres

Inherited from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes̺/

Numeral

tres

1. three (3)

Descendants

• Fala: tres
• Galician: tres
• Portuguese: três

Old Occitan

Numeral

tres

1. three (3)

Descendants

• Occitan: tres

Old Spanish

Old Spanish cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : tres     Ordinal : tercero

Alternative forms

• III (representation in Roman numerals)

Etymology

From Latin trēs.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/

Numeral

tres

1. three

Related terms

• tercero

Descendants

• Spanish: tres

Papiamentu

Papiamentu numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tres

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Old Galician-Portuguese tres

Portuguese trêsder.

▲

Latin trēs

Spanish tresder.

▲

Portuguese trêsder.

Kabuverdianu tresder.

Papiamentu tres

Derived from Portuguese três, Spanish tres, and Kabuverdianu tres.

Numeral

tres

1. three (3)

Polish

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtrɛs/
• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Syllabification: tres

Noun

tres f

1. genitive plural of tresa

Portuguese

Numeral

tres m or f

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of três

Adjective

tres m or f

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of três

Noun

tres m (invariable)

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of três

Romansh

Alternative forms

• trais (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader)
• treis (Sursilvan, Surmiran)

Etymology

From Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Number

tres

1. (Sutsilvan) three

Sardinian

Sardinian cardinal numbers

<  2	3	4  >
Cardinal : tres

Etymology

From Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtres/, [ˈtɾɛː.zɛ̆]

Numeral

tres

1. three

Spanish

Spanish numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tres     Ordinal: tercero     Apocopated ordinal: tercer     Ordinal abbreviation: 3.º     Multiplier: triple     Fractional: tercio
Spanish Wikipedia article on 3

Etymology

Inherited from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/ [ˈt̪ɾes]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: tres

Numeral

tres

1. three
   • 2022 June 3, Sandee LaMotte, “El efecto 'Benjamin Button': científicos logran revertir el envejecimiento en ratones. El objetivo es hacer lo mismo con los humanos”, in CNN en Español‎^[4], archived from the original on 13 February 2026:

     Los ensayos clínicos que prueban la molécula en humanos han estado en marcha durante tres años, dijo Sinclair.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• a dos por tres
• a las tres va la vencida
• andar a tres menos cuartillo
• cada dos por tres
• como tres y dos son cinco
• de tres al cuarto
• de tres pares de narices
• dos que tres
• en un dos por tres
• hambre de tres semanas
• la Ciudad de las Tres Culturas
• ni a la de tres
• no ver tres en un burro
• pasarse tres pueblos
• regla de tres
• sombrero de tres candiles
• sombrero de tres picos
• tres cuartos de lo mismo
• tres en raya

Related terms

• tercer
• tercia
• terciario
• tercio
• trece
• treinta

Further reading

• “tres”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026

Tagalog

Tagalog numbers ^(edit)

	30
←  2	3	4  →
Cardinal: tatlo     Spanish cardinal: tres     Ordinal: ikatlo, ikatatlo, pangatlo     Spanish ordinal: tersero, tersera     Ordinal abbreviation: ika-3, pang-3     Adverbial: makatlo, makaitlo, makatatlo     Multiplier: triple, tatlong ibayo     Distributive: tigtatlo, tatluhan, tatlo-tatlo     Restrictive: tatatlo     Fractional: katlo, sangkatlo, saikatlo
Tagalog Wikipedia article on 3

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *tréyes

Proto-Italic *trejes

Proto-Italic *trēs

Latin trēs

Spanish tresbor.

Tagalog tres

Borrowed from Spanish tres, from Latin trēs, from Proto-Italic *trēs, from *trejes, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈtɾes/ [ˈt̪ɾɛs]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -es
• Syllabification: tres

Numeral

tres (Baybayin spelling ᜆ᜔ᜇᜒᜐ᜔)

1. three

   Synonym: tatlo

2. (basketball) three-point shot

Derived terms

• ikatres

Related terms

• a-tres
• a-trese
• alas-tres
• beynte tres
• kuwarenta y tres
• nobenta y tres
• otsenta y tres
• sesenta y tres
• setenta y tres
• singkuwenta y tres
• terseto
• tersiyopelo
• testigo
• testimonyo
• Tres Marias
• tres-siyete
• trese
• tresyentos
• treynta y tres
• tridwo
• triyanggular
• triyanggulasyon
• triyanggulo
• triyo

Further reading

• “tres”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018