Which to use
“thru” is a preposition and “Tu” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,266
- “thru” frequency rank
- #10,301
- “Tu” frequency rank
- 19567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | thru | Tu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nonstandard spelling of through. | A surname from Chinese. |
Letter map: thru vs Tu
Shared letters muted; letters that set thru and Tu apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: thru is apreposition and Tuaname. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
thru is recorded at frequency rank #9,266, classified as aprep, pronounced /θɹuː/. Tu is at rank #10,301, tagged as aname.
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 19567, this pair ranks #437,255 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of thru vs Tu
Shared letters: tu. Private to "thru": hr. Private to "Tu": -.
"thru" · 4 letters · shape CCCV · "Tu" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- thru ← htru · thhru · thrru · thur · trhu · tthru
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "thru" and "Tu" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "thru" or "Tu"?
What to do next
You've compared "thru" and "Tu". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "thru" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Tu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #437,255 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "thru" and "Tu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tu vs tuft". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.