Which to use
“that” is a conjunction and “that'd” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “that” frequency rank
- #10,463
- “that'd” frequency rank
- 10473
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | that | that'd |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc. | that would |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set that and that'd apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: that is /ðət/ while that'd is /ˈðætəd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “that” sits inside “that'd”, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
that is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as aconj, pronounced /ðət/. that'd is at rank #10,463, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /ˈðætəd/.
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 10473, this pair ranks #492,153 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of that vs that'd
Shared letters: aht. Private to "that": -. Private to "that'd": d.
"that" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "that'd" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- that ← htat · taht · thatt · thhat · thta · tthat
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "that" and "that'd" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "that" or "that'd"?
Remembering that vs that'd
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a conjunction, it's “that”; for a contraction, it's “that'd”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “that” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable