Which to use
“threw” is a verb and “thru” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,266
- “threw” frequency rank
- #9,266
- “thru” frequency rank
- 12532
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | threw | thru |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of throw | Nonstandard spelling of through. |
Same sound, different letters: threw vs thru
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Homophone desk: threw vs thru
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: threw and thru carry the same recorded pronunciation, /θɹuː/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other apreposition, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
threw is recorded at frequency rank #3,266, classified as averb, pronounced /θɹuː/. thru is at rank #9,266, tagged as aprep, 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 12532, this pair ranks #481,000 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of threw vs thru
Shared letters: hrt. Private to "threw": ew. Private to "thru": u.
"threw" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "thru" · 4 letters · shape CCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "threw" for "thru" ever safe?
Which is more common, "threw" or "thru"?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "threw" / "thru". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "threw" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thru" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,000 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "threw" and "thru" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thru vs torus". 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 #481,000 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.