Which to use
“tern” is a noun and “there” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,923
- “tern” frequency rank
- #57
- “there” frequency rank
- 40980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tern | there |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any of various seabirds of the subfamily Sterninae (of the family Laridae) that are similar to gulls but are smaller and have a forked tail. | In or at a place or location (stated, implied or otherwise indicated) that is perceived to be away from, or at a relative distance from, the speaker (compare here). |
Where the eye mixes tern and there
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tern vs there
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tern is /tɜːn/ while there is /ðə(ɹ)/. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tern is recorded at frequency rank #40,923, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɜːn/. there is at rank #57, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ðə(ɹ)/.
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 40980, this pair ranks #262,648 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tern vs there
Shared letters: ert. Private to "tern": n. Private to "there": h.
"tern" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "there" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tern" for "there" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tern" or "there"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "there" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #262,648 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tern" and "there" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tern vs Thun". 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 #262,648 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.