there vs third, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“there” is an adverb and “third” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#57
“there” frequency rank: #483
“third” frequency rank: 540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	there	third
Definition	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).	The ordinal form of the cardinal number three; Coming after the second.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

there

5 ch

third

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

there and third form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

there is recorded at frequency rank #57, classified as anadv, pronounced /ðə(ɹ)/. third is at rank #483, tagged as anadj, pronounced /θɜːd/.

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 540, this pair ranks #529,238 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

there#57

third#483

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No, "there" and "third" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering there vs third

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “there”; for an adjective, it's “third”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “there” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable