theresvsthesesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: theres is a contraction, theses is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“theres” is a contraction and “theses” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,365
“theres” frequency rank
#22,243
“theses” frequency rank
30608
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature theres theses
Definition There is; there's. plural of thesis

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set theres and theses apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
theres
6 ch
theses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: theres is acontraction and thesesanoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - r in “theres” becomes s in “theses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

theres is recorded at frequency rank #8,365, classified as acontraction. theses is at rank #22,243, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈθiːsiːz/.

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 30608, this pair ranks #353,163 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of theres vs theses

Shared letters: ehst. Private to "theres": r. Private to "theses": -.

"theres" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "theses" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • thereshteres · tehres · theers · theress · therres · therse · thheres · ttheres
  • theseshteses · tehses · theess · thesess · thesses · thheses · thsees · ttheses

Frequency comparison

theres#8,365
theses#22,243

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "theres" and "theses" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "theres" is a contraction and "theses" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "theres" or "theses"?
"theres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,365 in our English list, against #22,243 for "theses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering theres vs theses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “theres”; for a noun, it's “theses”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “theres” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list