Which to use
“thorn” and “thou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,696
- “thorn” frequency rank
- #44,777
- “thou” frequency rank
- 88473
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thorn | thou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lettre scandinave aujourd’hui uniquement en islandais, mais qui fut également utilisée par des langues mortes telles que l’anglo-saxon. Majuscule : Þ, minuscule : þ. | Écluse en pierre ou en béton permettant de vider lentement les étangs de la Dombes dans l'Ain. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set thorn and thou apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. thorn (\tɔʁn\) and thou (\tu\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thorn is recorded at frequency rank #43,696, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɔʁn\. thou is at rank #44,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tu\.
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 88473, this pair ranks #6,942 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of thorn vs thou
Shared letters: hot. Private to "thorn": nr. Private to "thou": u.
"thorn" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "thou" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "thorn" and "thou" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "thorn" or "thou"?
Remembering thorn vs thou
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “thorn” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable