Which to use
“them” is a pronoun and “threw” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #71
- “them” frequency rank
- #3,266
- “threw” frequency rank
- 3337
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | them | threw |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Those ones. | simple past of throw |
Where the eye mixes them and threw
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: them is /ˈðɛm/ while threw is /θɹuː/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
them is recorded at frequency rank #71, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈðɛm/. threw is at rank #3,266, tagged as averb, pronounced /θɹuː/.
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 3337, this pair ranks #522,392 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of them vs threw
Shared letters: eht. Private to "them": m. Private to "threw": rw.
"them" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "threw" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC