Which to use
“then” is an adverb and “thunk” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #91
- “then” frequency rank
- #47,382
- “thunk” frequency rank
- 47473
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | then | thunk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | At that time. | past participle of think |
Where the eye mixes then and thunk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between then and thunk
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: then is /ðɛn/ while thunk is /θʌŋk/. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
then is recorded at frequency rank #91, classified as anadv, pronounced /ðɛn/. thunk is at rank #47,382, tagged as averb, pronounced /θʌŋk/.
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 47473, this pair ranks #202,091 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of then vs thunk
Shared letters: hnt. Private to "then": e. Private to "thunk": ku.
"then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "thunk" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "then" and "thunk" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "then" or "thunk"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "then" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thunk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #202,091 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "then" and "thunk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Thun vs thunk". 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 #202,091 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.