Which to use
“thank” is a verb and “then” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,987
- “thank” frequency rank
- #23,392
- “then” frequency rank
- 51379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thank | then |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Remercier. | (Adverbe conjonctif) Alors, dans ce cas, par conséquence. |
Where the eye mixes thank and then
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. thank runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against then's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses thank with then
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: thank is \ˈθæŋk\ while then is \ˈðɛn\. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thank is recorded at frequency rank #27,987, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈθæŋk\. then is at rank #23,392, tagged as anadv, pronounced \ˈðɛn\.
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 51379, this pair ranks #155,455 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of thank vs then
Shared letters: hnt. Private to "thank": ak. Private to "then": e.
"thank" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "thank" and "then" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "thank" or "then"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "thank" and "then" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "thank" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "then" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #155,455 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "thank" and "then" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tak vs thank". 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 #155,455 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.