tes vs then, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“tes” is a noun and “then” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,969
“tes” frequency rank: #17,149
“then” frequency rank: 62118
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	tes	then
Definition	Plural des Substantivs te	Bezug zu einem im Text vorher genannten Zeitpunkt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tes and then apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

tes

4 ch

then

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tes is [tɛs] while then is [ðɛn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tes is recorded at frequency rank #44,969, classified as anoun, pronounced [tɛs]. then is at rank #17,149, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ðɛn].

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 62118, this pair ranks #724,514 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tes vs then

Shared letters: et. Private to "tes": s. Private to "then": hn.

"tes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

then ← hten · tehn · thenn · thhen · thne · tthen

Frequency comparison

tes#44,969

then#17,149

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tes" and "then" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tes" is a noun and "then" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "tes" or "then"?

"then" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,149 in our German list, against #44,969 for "tes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tes vs then

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “tes”; for an adverb, it's “then”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tes” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable