Which to use
“ten” is a pronoun and “then” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,094
- “ten” frequency rank
- #18,204
- “then” frequency rank
- 28298
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ten | then |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | este, esta, esse, essa | então, aí. daí |
Letter map: ten vs then
Shared letters muted; letters that set ten and then apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Role in the sentence - ten and then
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ten is apronoun and thenanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ten is recorded at frequency rank #10,094, classified as apron. 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 28298, this pair ranks #40,522 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ten vs then
Shared letters: ent. Private to "ten": -. Private to "then": h.
"ten" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "then" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- then ← hten · tehn · thenn · thhen · thne · tthen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ten" and "then" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ten" or "then"?
After this comparison
You've compared "ten" and "then". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "ten" 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 #40,522 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ten" 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 #40,522 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.