Which to use
“their” is a determiner and “then” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,023
- “their” frequency rank
- #23,392
- “then” frequency rank
- 39415
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | their | then |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Leur, leurs. | (Adverbe conjonctif) Alors, dans ce cas, par conséquence. |
Where the eye mixes their and then
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses their with then
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: their is \ðɛə(ɹ)\ 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 (determiner vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
their is recorded at frequency rank #16,023, classified as adet, pronounced \ðɛə(ɹ)\. 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 39415, this pair ranks #248,135 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of their vs then
Shared letters: eht. Private to "their": ir. Private to "then": n.
"their" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "their" and "then" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "their" or "then" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "their" and "then" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "their" 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 #248,135 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "their" and "then" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "then vs tun". 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 #248,135 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.