Which to use
“this” is an adjective and “tin” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,196
- “this” frequency rank
- #17,292
- “tin” frequency rank
- 22488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | this | tin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ce … -ci, cette … -ci. | Cale de bois qui supporte la quille d’un navire en construction ou en cale sèche. |
Where the eye mixes this and tin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses this with tin
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: this is \ðɪs\ while tin is \tɛ̃\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
this is recorded at frequency rank #5,196, classified as anadj, pronounced \ðɪs\. tin is at rank #17,292, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛ̃\.
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 22488, this pair ranks #357,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of this vs tin
Shared letters: it. Private to "this": hs. Private to "tin": n.
"this" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "tin" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- this ← htis · thhis · thiss · thsi · tihs · tthis
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "this" for "tin" ever safe?
Which is more common, "this" or "tin"?
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 "this" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #357,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "this" and "tin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tif vs tin". 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 #357,714 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.