Which to use
“tho” is an article and “though” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,588
- “tho” frequency rank
- #298
- “though” frequency rank
- 3886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tho | though |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The (plural form); those. | Despite that; however. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tho and though apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tho and though form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 3 extra letter(s) - “tho” sits inside “though” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tho is recorded at frequency rank #3,588, classified as anarticle, pronounced /ðəʊ/. though is at rank #298, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ðəʊ/.
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 3886, this pair ranks #520,667 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tho" and "though" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tho vs though
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an article, it's “tho”; for an adverb, it's “though”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tho” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable