Which to use
“tes” is a noun and “they” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,969
- “tes” frequency rank
- #9,818
- “they” frequency rank
- 54787
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tes | they |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs te | sie |
Where the eye mixes tes and they
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tes vs they
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tes is [tɛs] while they is [ðeɪ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tes is recorded at frequency rank #44,969, classified as anoun, pronounced [tɛs]. they is at rank #9,818, tagged as apron, pronounced [ðeɪ].
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 54787, this pair ranks #1,005,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tes vs they
Shared letters: et. Private to "tes": s. Private to "they": hy.
"tes" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "they" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- they ← htey · tehy · theyy · thhey · thye · tthey
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tes" for "they" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tes" vs "they" - which ranks higher?
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 "tes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "they" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,005,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tes" and "they" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tes vs trees". 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 #1,005,086 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.