Which to use
“thirteen” is a num and “thirties” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,494
- “thirteen” frequency rank
- #21,384
- “thirties” frequency rank
- 29878
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thirteen | thirties |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The cardinal number occurring after twelve and before fourteen: ten and three. | The fourth decade of a century: the 1830s, 1930s, 2030s, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set thirteen and thirties apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: thirteen is anum and thirtiesanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29878, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thirteen is recorded at frequency rank #8,494, classified as anum, pronounced /ˌθɜːˈtiːn/. thirties is at rank #21,384, tagged as anoun.
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 29878, this pair ranks #359,277 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of thirteen vs thirties
Shared letters: ehirt. Private to "thirteen": n. Private to "thirties": s.
"thirteen" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVVC · "thirties" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "thirteen" and "thirties" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "thirteen" or "thirties"?
Remembering thirteen vs thirties
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “thirteen”; for a noun, it's “thirties”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “thirteen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable