Which to use
“that” is a conjunction and “tuft” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “that” frequency rank
- #49,682
- “tuft” frequency rank
- 49692
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | that | tuft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc. | A bunch of feathers, grass or hair, etc., held together at the base. |
Where the eye mixes that and tuft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. that (CCVC) and tuft (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: that vs tuft
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: that is /ðət/ while tuft is /tʌft/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49692, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
that is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as aconj, pronounced /ðət/. tuft is at rank #49,682, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tʌft/.
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 49692, this pair ranks #181,233 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of that vs tuft
Shared letters: t. Private to "that": ah. Private to "tuft": fu.
"that" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "tuft" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "that" for "tuft" ever safe?
Which is more common, "that" or "tuft"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "that" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tuft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,233 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "that" and "tuft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf 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
Confusion rank #181,233 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.