Which to use
“thé” and “tun” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,575
- “thé” frequency rank
- #49,414
- “tun” frequency rank
- 52989
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thé | tun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Boisson chaude préparée à partir d’une infusion de feuilles du théier. | Craie glauconieuse. |
Where the eye mixes thé and tun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. thé (CCV) and tun (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: thé vs tun
A purely visual mix-up. thé (\te\) and tun (\tyn\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thé is recorded at frequency rank #3,575, classified as anoun, pronounced \te\. tun is at rank #49,414, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tyn\.
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 52989, this pair ranks #143,867 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of thé vs tun
Shared letters: t. Private to "thé": hé. Private to "tun": nu.
"thé" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "tun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "thé" for "tun" ever safe?
Frequency check: "thé" vs "tun" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "thé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #143,867 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "thé" and "tun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tif vs tun". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #143,867 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.