Which to use
“who're” and “who's” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,747
- “who're” frequency rank
- #1,512
- “who's” frequency rank
- 36259
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | who're | who's |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Who are. | Who is. |
Where the eye mixes who're and who's
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. who're runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against who's's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses who're with who's
A purely visual mix-up. who're ([hʊɚ]) and who's (/huːz/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36259, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
who're is recorded at frequency rank #34,747, classified as acontraction, pronounced [hʊɚ]. who's is at rank #1,512, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /huːz/.
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 36259, this pair ranks #304,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of who're vs who's
Shared letters: how. Private to "who're": er. Private to "who's": s.
"who're" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "who's" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "who're" and "who's" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "who're" or "who's" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "who're" and "who's" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "who're" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "who's" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #304,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "who're" and "who's" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "who're vs whorl". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #304,675 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.