Which to use
“that” is a conjunction and “they” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “that” frequency rank
- #35
- “they” frequency rank
- 45
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | that | they |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc. | A group of entities previously mentioned. |
Where the eye mixes that and they
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 they is /ˈðeɪ̯/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
that is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as aconj, pronounced /ðət/. they is at rank #35, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈðeɪ̯/.
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 45, this pair ranks #529,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of that vs they
Shared letters: ht. Private to "that": a. Private to "they": ey.
"that" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "they" · 4 letters · shape CCVV