# tern vs tun

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### tern
*noun · IPA /tɜːn/ · frequency rank #40,923*
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.

### tun
*noun · IPA /tʌn/ · frequency rank #30,265*
A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask. (See a diagram comparing cask sizes.)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tun