thenvstokenTell them apart

Quick tell: then is a adverb, token is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“then” is an adverb and “token” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,392
“then” frequency rank
#48,832
“token” frequency rank
72224
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature then token
Definition (Adverbe conjonctif) Alors, dans ce cas, par conséquence. Lexème ou lexie.

Where the eye mixes then and token

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
then
5 ch
token

Look-alike desk: then vs token

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: then is \ˈðɛn\ while token is \to.kɛn\. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

then is recorded at frequency rank #23,392, classified as anadv, pronounced \ˈðɛn\. token is at rank #48,832, tagged as anoun, pronounced \to.kɛn\.

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 72224, this pair ranks #44,753 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of then vs token

Shared letters: ent. Private to "then": h. Private to "token": ko.

"then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "token" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • thenhten · tehn · thenn · thhen · thne · tthen
  • tokenotken · tkoen · toekn · tokenn · tokken · tokne · ttoken

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "then" and "token" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "then" is an adverb and "token" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "then" vs "token" - which ranks higher?
"then" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,392 in our French list, against #48,832 for "token". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "then" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "token" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #44,753 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "then" and "token" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "toe vs token". 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 #44,753 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list