Which to use
“third” is a num and “thorn” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,206
- “third” frequency rank
- #43,679
- “thorn” frequency rank
- 61885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | third | thorn |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceiro | espinho (em planta) |
Where the eye mixes third and thorn
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses third with thorn
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: third is /θɝd/ while thorn is θɔrn. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
third is recorded at frequency rank #18,206, classified as anum, pronounced /θɝd/. thorn is at rank #43,679, tagged as anoun, pronounced θɔrn.
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 61885, this pair ranks #6,923 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of third vs thorn
Shared letters: hrt. Private to "third": di. Private to "thorn": no.
"third" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "thorn" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "third" for "thorn" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "third" or "thorn" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "third" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thorn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #6,923 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "third" and "thorn" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thin 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 #6,923 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.