That or who?
that is a conjunction meaning “Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb…”; who is a pronoun meaning “What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of…”. Use that as a conjunction and who as a pronoun (that is also a pronoun: “The thing, person, idea, quality, event, action, or time…”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) that is about 4.7 times as common as who.
What is the difference between that and who?
| that | who | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | conjunction, determiner, pronoun, adverb, noun | pronoun, noun, determiner |
| Meaning | Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc As delayed subject The (thing, person, idea, etc) indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote physically, temporally or mentally than one designated as… | What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of someone; used in a direct or indirect question With antecedent as subject A person under discussion; a question of which person |
| Example | He told me that the book is a good read | You're getting married‽ Who to? (direct question) |
| Forms | 'at, 't, dat, thet | whom, whose |
| Pronunciation | /ðət/ /ðæt/ [ˈðat] | /huː/ /hʉw/ /hu/ |
| In writing | 10,233 times per million words | 2,188 times per million words |
Sources: that and who in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of that and who
that
- 1
Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc
He told me that the book is a good read
- 2
The (thing, person, idea, etc) indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote physically, temporally or mentally than one designated as “this”, or if expressing distinction
That book is a good read. This one isn't
- 3
The thing, person, idea, quality, event, action, or time indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote geographically, temporally or mentally than one designated as “this”, or if…
That's my car over there
- 4
Denoting an equal degree
Here's the measurement – the ribbon must be that long, no longer and no shorter
- 5
Something being indicated that is there; one of those
- 6
As delayed subject
It is almost certain that she will come
- 7
Used to refer to a noun phrase or statement just made
They're getting divorced. What do you think about that?
- 8
Denoting ‘as much’, ‘no less’
She said we waited for three hours, but I'm sure it wasn't that long
who
- 1
What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of someone; used in a direct or indirect question
You're getting married‽ Who to? (direct question)
- 2
A person under discussion; a question of which person
- 3
whose
Who phone just rang?
- 4
Honorific alternative letter-case form of who, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context
- 5
With antecedent as subject
That's the man who works at the newsagent. (defining)
- 6
With antecedent as object: whom
That's the man who I saw earlier
- 7
Whoever, he who, they who
Who dares wins
- 8
informalAlso used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams
Who are the Miami Heat?
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, that or who?
that appears 10,233 times per million words; who 2,188 times per million words.
that 10,233 times per million wordswho 2,188 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search that vs who?
“that vs who” is searched about 880 times a month on Google and 30 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“who vs that”, “that or who”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.