Which to use
“that” is a conjunction and “the” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “that” frequency rank
- #1
- “the” frequency rank
- 11
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | that | the |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc. | Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun |
Where the eye mixes that and the
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: that is /ðət/ while the is /ðə/. 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 (conjunction vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
that is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as aconj, pronounced /ðət/. the is at rank #1, tagged as anarticle, pronounced /ðə/.
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 11, this pair ranks #530,001 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of that vs the
Shared letters: ht. Private to "that": a. Private to "the": e.
"that" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "the" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- that ← htat · taht · thatt · thhat · thta · tthat
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "that" and "the" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "that" or "the"?
What to do next
You've compared "that" and "the". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "that" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "the" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #530,001 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "that" and "the" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "that vs tuft". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.