Which to use
“then” is an adverb and “tuer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,392
- “then” frequency rank
- #1,426
- “tuer” frequency rank
- 24818
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | then | tuer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Adverbe conjonctif) Alors, dans ce cas, par conséquence. | Ôter la vie d’une manière violente ; ne se dit pas quand il s’agit d'une euthanasie, ni à la forme pronominale dans le cas d’une mort accidentelle par noyade, étouffement ou empoisonnement : on emploie alors se noyer, s’étouffer, s’empoisonner. |
Where the eye mixes then and tuer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses then with tuer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: then is \ˈðɛn\ while tuer is \tɥe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24818, 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\. tuer is at rank #1,426, tagged as averb, pronounced \tɥe\.
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 24818, this pair ranks #344,430 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of then vs tuer
Shared letters: et. Private to "then": hn. Private to "tuer": ru.
"then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "tuer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "then" and "tuer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "then" or "tuer"?
Useful next steps
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 "tuer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #344,430 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "then" and "tuer" 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 #344,430 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.