Which to use
“them” is a pronoun and “tuen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,759
- “them” frequency rank
- #32,318
- “tuen” frequency rank
- 48077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | them | tuen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personalpronomen 3. Person Plural Objektform: ihnen, sie | 1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tun |
Where the eye mixes them and tuen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: them vs tuen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: them is [ðɛm] while tuen is [ˈtuːən]. 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 (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48077, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
them is recorded at frequency rank #15,759, classified as apron, pronounced [ðɛm]. tuen is at rank #32,318, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtuːən].
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 48077, this pair ranks #1,261,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of them vs tuen
Shared letters: et. Private to "them": hm. Private to "tuen": nu.
"them" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "tuen" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "them" for "tuen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "them" or "tuen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "them" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tuen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,261,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "them" and "tuen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trügen vs tuen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,261,618 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.