Which to use
“thou” and “thym” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,777
- “thou” frequency rank
- #32,217
- “thym” frequency rank
- 76994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thou | thym |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Écluse en pierre ou en béton permettant de vider lentement les étangs de la Dombes dans l'Ain. | Genre de plantes de la famille des Lamiacées dont l’espèce la plus connue est le Thymus vulgaris, plante aromatique et médicinale, qui est utilisée en cuisine et pour la préparation d’infusions et de décoctions. Sauvage et très répandu dans les garrigues des rives de la méditerranée, il est aussi, pour ses vertus, cultivé dans les jardins. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set thou and thym apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. thou (\tu\) and thym (\tɛ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thou is recorded at frequency rank #44,777, classified as anoun, pronounced \tu\. thym is at rank #32,217, 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 76994, this pair ranks #29,582 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of thou vs thym
Shared letters: ht. Private to "thou": ou. Private to "thym": my.
"thou" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "thym" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "thou" and "thym" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "thou" or "thym"?
Remembering thou vs thym
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 “thou” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable