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 spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set that and the apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
that and the form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "that" and "the" be used interchangeably?
Remembering that vs the
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a conjunction, it's “that”; for an article, it's “the”.
- 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