now then
"now-then" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“now then” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to move or return to another subject of discussion.
Corpus desk
Index EN-now-then · now then · English
now then · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "N" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | now then |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “now then” in English
Rare enough to double-check
now then is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for now then in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is now then, spelled N-O-W- -T-H-E-N.
Definition
- 1Used to move or return to another subject of discussion.
- 2A mild admonishment.
- 3A greeting.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how now then appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Now then, what shall we do?
Now then, don't hit your brother!
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.