Which to use
“thank” is a noun and “then” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #317
- “thank” frequency rank
- #91
- “then” frequency rank
- 408
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thank | then |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | singular of thanks (“an expression of appreciation or gratitude; grateful feelings or thoughts; favour, goodwill, graciousness”) | At that time. |
Where the eye mixes thank and then
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: thank is /ˈθæŋk/ while then is /ðɛn/. 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 408, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thank is recorded at frequency rank #317, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈθæŋk/. then is at rank #91, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ðɛn/.
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 408, this pair ranks #529,467 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of thank vs then
Shared letters: hnt. Private to "thank": ak. Private to "then": e.
"thank" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC