thenvsthxConfusable pair

Quick tell: then is a adverb, thx is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#17,149
“then” frequency rank
#32,809
“thx” frequency rank
49958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature then thx
Definition Bezug zu einem im Text vorher genannten Zeitpunkt danke

Letter map: then vs thx

Shared letters muted; letters that set then and thx apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
then
3 ch
thx

Role in the sentence - then and thx

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: then is anadverb and thxanabbrev. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49958, 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]. thx is at rank #32,809, tagged as anabbrev.

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 49958, this pair ranks #1,192,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of then vs thx

Shared letters: ht. Private to "then": en. Private to "thx": x.

"then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "thx" · 3 letters · shape CCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • thenhten · tehn · thenn · thhen · thne · tthen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "then" for "thx" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "then" is an adverb and "thx" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "then" vs "thx" - which ranks higher?
"then" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,149 in our German list, against #32,809 for "thx". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "then" and "thx".

  • Full dictionary entry for "then" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "thx" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,192,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "then" and "thx" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thx 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 #1,192,000 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