Which to use
“thing” is a noun and “third” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,088
- “thing” frequency rank
- #22,170
- “third” frequency rank
- 40258
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thing | third |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein materielles Objekt, ohne Bewusstsein | dritte; dem zweiten folgend und dem vierten vorausgehend |
Where the eye mixes thing and third
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses thing with third
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: thing is [θɪŋ] while third is [θɜːd]. 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 (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thing is recorded at frequency rank #18,088, classified as anoun, pronounced [θɪŋ]. third is at rank #22,170, tagged as anum, pronounced [θɜːd].
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 40258, this pair ranks #1,513,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of thing vs third
Shared letters: hit. Private to "thing": gn. Private to "third": dr.
"thing" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "third" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "thing" and "third" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "thing" vs "third" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "thing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "third" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,513,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "thing" and "third" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thin vs third". 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 #1,513,638 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.