themvsTmConfusable pair

Quick tell: them is a pronoun, Tm is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“them” is a pronoun and “Tm” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,759
“them” frequency rank
#18,093
“Tm” frequency rank
33852
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature them Tm
Definition Personalpronomen 3. Person Plural Objektform: ihnen, sie Thulium

Letter map: them vs Tm

Shared letters muted; letters that set them and Tm apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
them
2 ch
Tm

Grammar separator: them vs Tm

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: them is apronoun and Tmanabbrev. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33852, 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]. Tm is at rank #18,093, tagged as anabbrev.

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 33852, this pair ranks #1,676,625 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of them vs Tm

Shared letters: mt. Private to "them": eh. Private to "Tm": -.

"them" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Tm" · 2 letters · shape CC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • themhtem · tehm · themm · thhem · thme · tthem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "them" for "Tm" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "them" is a pronoun and "Tm" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "them" vs "Tm" - which ranks higher?
"them" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,759 in our German list, against #18,093 for "Tm". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "them" and "Tm".

  • Full dictionary entry for "them" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,676,625 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "them" and "Tm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thy vs Tm". 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 #1,676,625 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list