Which to use
“ten” is a num and “tenth” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #959
- “ten” frequency rank
- #8,097
- “tenth” frequency rank
- 9056
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ten | tenth |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The number occurring after nine and before eleven, represented in Arabic numerals (base ten) as 10 and in Roman numerals as X. | The ordinal numeral form of ten; next in order after that which is ninth. |
Where the eye mixes ten and tenth
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ten and tenth
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ten is /tɛn/ while tenth is /tɛnθ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ten” sits inside “tenth”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9056, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ten is recorded at frequency rank #959, classified as anum, pronounced /tɛn/. tenth is at rank #8,097, tagged as anadj, pronounced /tɛnθ/.
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 9056, this pair ranks #499,312 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ten vs tenth
Shared letters: ent. Private to "ten": -. Private to "tenth": h.
"ten" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "tenth" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tenth ← etnth · tenht · tennth · tenthh · tentth · tetnh · tneth · ttenth
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ten" for "tenth" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "ten" or "tenth" show up more?
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 "ten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tenth" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #499,312 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ten" and "tenth" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tenth vs Toth". 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 #499,312 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.