then vs there, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“then” and “there” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#91
“then” frequency rank: #57
“there” frequency rank: 148
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	then	there
Definition	At that time.	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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set then and there apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

then

5 ch

there

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. then (/ðɛn/) and there (/ðə(ɹ)/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

then is recorded at frequency rank #91, classified as anadv, pronounced /ðɛn/. 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 148, this pair ranks #529,813 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of then vs there

Shared letters: eht. Private to "then": n. Private to "there": r.

"then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "there" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

then ← hten · tehn · thenn · thhen · thne · tthen
there ← htere · tehre · theer · therre · thhere · tthere

Frequency comparison

then#91

there#57

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "then" and "there" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ðɛn/ versus /ðə(ɹ)/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "then" or "there"?

"there" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #57 in our English list, against #91 for "then". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering then vs there

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “then” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable