Which to use
“them” and “they” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,759
- “them” frequency rank
- #9,818
- “they” frequency rank
- 25577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | them | they |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personalpronomen 3. Person Plural Objektform: ihnen, sie | sie |
Where the eye mixes them and they
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between them and they
A purely visual mix-up. them ([ðɛm]) and they ([ðeɪ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - m in “them” becomes y in “they”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
them is recorded at frequency rank #15,759, classified as apron, pronounced [ðɛm]. 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 25577, this pair ranks #1,831,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of them vs they
Shared letters: eht. Private to "them": m. Private to "they": y.
"them" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "they" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "them" and "they" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "them" 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 "them" 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 #1,831,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "them" and "they" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "them vs thy". 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 #1,831,155 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.