Which to use
“thin” is an adjective and “this” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #45,623
- “thin” frequency rank
- #2,559
- “this” frequency rank
- 48182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thin | this |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von geringer Dicke | in der Nähe |
Where the eye mixes thin and this
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses thin with this
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: thin is [ˈθɪn] while this is [ðɪs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “thin” becomes s in “this”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thin is recorded at frequency rank #45,623, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈθɪn]. this is at rank #2,559, tagged as apron, pronounced [ðɪs].
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 48182, this pair ranks #1,257,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of thin vs this
Shared letters: hit. Private to "thin": n. Private to "this": s.
"thin" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "this" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "thin" and "this" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "thin" or "this" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "thin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "this" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,257,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "thin" and "this" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thin vs tine". 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 #1,257,857 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.