Which to use
“thing” is a noun and “tung” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,644
- “thing” frequency rank
- #38,434
- “tung” frequency rank
- 65078
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thing | tung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cosa. | Pesado |
Where the eye mixes thing and tung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses thing with tung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: thing is /θɪŋ/ while tung is [to̜ŋˀ]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65078, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thing is recorded at frequency rank #26,644, classified as anoun, pronounced /θɪŋ/. tung is at rank #38,434, tagged as anadj, pronounced [to̜ŋˀ].
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 65078, this pair ranks #43,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of thing vs tung
Shared letters: gnt. Private to "thing": hi. Private to "tung": u.
"thing" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "tung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "thing" for "tung" ever safe?
Which is more common, "thing" or "tung"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "thing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "thing" and "tung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tul vs tung". 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 #43,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.