thenvsThronWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: then is a adverb, Thron is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#17,149
“then” frequency rank
#7,676
“Thron” frequency rank
24825
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature then Thron
Definition Bezug zu einem im Text vorher genannten Zeitpunkt prunkvoller Sitz, auf dem ein Monarch bei festlichen Anlässen Platz nimmt

Where the eye mixes then and Thron

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
then
5 ch
Thron

Why the eye confuses then with Thron

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: then is [ðɛn] while Thron is [tʁoːn]. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

then is recorded at frequency rank #17,149, classified as anadv, pronounced [ðɛn]. Thron is at rank #7,676, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tʁoːn].

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 24825, this pair ranks #1,842,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of then vs Thron

Shared letters: hnt. Private to "then": e. Private to "Thron": or.

"then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Thron" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • thenhten · tehn · thenn · thhen · thne · tthen
  • Thronhtron · thhron · thrno · thronn · thrron · trhon · tthron

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "then" and "Thron" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "then" is an adverb and "Thron" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "then" or "Thron" show up more?
"Thron" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,676 in our German list, against #17,149 for "then". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "then" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Thron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,842,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "then" and "Thron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "then vs thy". 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 #1,842,154 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list