tevsthyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“te” and “thy” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,979
“te” frequency rank
#47,049
“thy” frequency rank
54028
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature te thy
Definition ihr, Sie (Höflichkeitsform) dein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set te and thy apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
te
3 ch
thy

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. te ([te]) and thy ([ðaɪ]) 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 54028, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

te is recorded at frequency rank #6,979, classified as apron, pronounced [te]. thy is at rank #47,049, tagged as apron, pronounced [ðaɪ].

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 54028, this pair ranks #1,034,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of te vs thy

Shared letters: t. Private to "te": e. Private to "thy": hy.

"te" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "thy" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequency comparison

te#6,979
thy#47,049

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "te" and "thy" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([te] versus [ðaɪ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "te" or "thy"?
"te" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,979 in our German list, against #47,049 for "thy". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering te vs thy

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “te” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list