Which to use
“what'd” and “what's” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,652
- “what'd” frequency rank
- #645
- “what's” frequency rank
- 31297
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | what'd | what's |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contraction of what + did. | What is. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set what'd and what's apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. what'd (/wʌd/) and what's (/wɒts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - d in “what'd” becomes s in “what's”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31297, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
what'd is recorded at frequency rank #30,652, classified as acontraction, pronounced /wʌd/. what's is at rank #645, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /wɒts/.
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 31297, this pair ranks #347,293 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of what'd vs what's
Shared letters: ahtw. Private to "what'd": d. Private to "what's": s.
"what'd" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "what's" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "what'd" and "what's" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "what'd" or "what's"?
Remembering what'd vs what's
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “what'd” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable