Which to use
“te” is a pronoun and “then” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #59
- “te” frequency rank
- #18,204
- “then” frequency rank
- 18263
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | te | then |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | a ti | então, aí. daí |
Where the eye mixes te and then
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: te vs then
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: te is /tɨ/ while then is /ˈðɛn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
te is recorded at frequency rank #59, classified as apron, pronounced /tɨ/. then is at rank #18,204, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈðɛn/.
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 18263, this pair ranks #52,776 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of te vs then
Shared letters: et. Private to "te": -. Private to "then": hn.
"te" · 2 letters · shape CV · "then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- then ← hten · tehn · thenn · thhen · thne · tthen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "te" for "then" ever safe?
Which is more common, "te" or "then"?
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 "te" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "then" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,776 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "te" and "then" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "then vs thorn". 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 #52,776 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.