thencevsthriceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,627
“thence” frequency rank
#24,338
“thrice” frequency rank
50965
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature thence thrice
Definition From there, from that place or from that time. Three times.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set thence and thrice apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
thence
6 ch
thrice

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. thence (/ðɛns/) and thrice (/θɹaɪs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

thence is recorded at frequency rank #26,627, classified as anadv, pronounced /ðɛns/. thrice is at rank #24,338, tagged as anadv, pronounced /θɹaɪs/.

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 50965, this pair ranks #169,558 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of thence vs thrice

Shared letters: ceht. Private to "thence": n. Private to "thrice": ir.

"thence" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "thrice" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • thencehtence · tehnce · thance · thecne · thencce · thenec · thennce · thhence
  • thricehtrice · thhrice · thirce · thrcie · thricce · thriec · thrrice · trhice

Frequency comparison

thence#26,627
thrice#24,338

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "thence" and "thrice" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ðɛns/ versus /θɹaɪs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "thence" or "thrice"?
"thrice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,338 in our English list, against #26,627 for "thence". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering thence vs thrice

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 “thence” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list