Which to use
“thaw” is a verb and “this” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,130
- “thaw” frequency rank
- #15
- “this” frequency rank
- 23145
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thaw | this |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To gradually melt, dissolve, or become fluid; to soften from frozen. | The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby). |
Where the eye mixes thaw and this
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses thaw with this
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: thaw is /θɔː/ while this is /ðɪs/. 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 (verb vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thaw is recorded at frequency rank #23,130, classified as averb, pronounced /θɔː/. this is at rank #15, tagged as adet, pronounced /ðɪs/.
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 23145, this pair ranks #411,421 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of thaw vs this
Shared letters: ht. Private to "thaw": aw. Private to "this": is.
"thaw" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "this" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "thaw" and "this" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "thaw" or "this"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "thaw" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "this" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #411,421 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "thaw" and "this" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thaw vs Trav". 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 #411,421 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.