Which to use
“though” is an adverb and “thought” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #298
- “though” frequency rank
- #235
- “thought” frequency rank
- 533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | though | thought |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Despite that; however. | A representation created in the mind without the use of one's faculties of vision, sound, smell, touch, or taste; an instance of thinking. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set though and thought apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
though and thought 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 1 extra letter(s) - “though” sits inside “thought” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
though is recorded at frequency rank #298, classified as anadv, pronounced /ðəʊ/. thought is at rank #235, tagged as anoun, pronounced /θɔt/.
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 533, this pair ranks #529,254 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "though" and "thought" be used interchangeably?
Remembering though vs thought
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “though”; for a noun, it's “thought”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “though” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable