Which to use
“them” is a pronoun and “theta” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #71
- “them” frequency rank
- #23,699
- “theta” frequency rank
- 23770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | them | theta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Those ones. | The eighth letter of the Modern Greek alphabet, ninth in Old Greek: Θ, θ. |
Where the eye mixes them and theta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses them with theta
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: them is /ˈðɛm/ while theta is /ˈθiːtə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
them is recorded at frequency rank #71, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈðɛm/. theta is at rank #23,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈθiːtə/.
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 23770, this pair ranks #406,913 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of them vs theta
Shared letters: eht. Private to "them": m. Private to "theta": a.
"them" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "theta" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "them" for "theta" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "them" or "theta" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "them" and "theta" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "them" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "theta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #406,913 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "them" and "theta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "theta vs THT". 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 #406,913 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.