that'll vs that's, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“that'll” and “that's” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,622
“that'll” frequency rank: #143
“that's” frequency rank: 7765
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	that'll	that's
Definition	That will.	That is.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set that'll and that's apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

that'll

6 ch

that's

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. that'll (/ˈðætl̩/) and that's (/ðəts/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7765, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

that'll is recorded at frequency rank #7,622, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈðætl̩/. that's is at rank #143, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /ðəts/.

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 7765, this pair ranks #505,677 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of that'll vs that's

Shared letters: aht. Private to "that'll": l. Private to "that's": s.

"that'll" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "that's" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Frequency comparison

that'll#7,622

that's#143

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "that'll" and "that's" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈðætl̩/ versus /ðəts/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "that'll" or "that's"?

"that's" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #143 in our English list, against #7,622 for "that'll". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering that'll vs that's

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “that'll” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable