dat
/dæt/
"dat" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dat” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #13,898) as a determiner. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #13,898
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pronunciation spelling of that.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dat · dat · English
dat · rank #13,898 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #13,898
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH curator
Nearest frequency peer: curator (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “dat”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- CU
CU
86,106 corpus weight
- cumulative
cumulative
86,105 corpus weight
- curator
curator
86,104 corpus weight
- dat
dat
86,103 corpus weight
- deity
deity
86,102 corpus weight
- desperation
desperation
86,101 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “dat” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dat |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Determiner |
| IPA | /dæt/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #13,898 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dat” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for dat is neighbouring look-alikes ("do", "Dr", …), not just typos; it is adeterminer pronounced /dæt/. Frequency #13,898 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Gloss: "Pronunciation spelling of that.".
No misspelling variants are generated for dat in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "do", "Dr", "de", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Pronuctiation spelling of that, representing dialects with th-stopping. Compare Dutch dat, Low German dat, and German das. The correct English form is dat, spelled D-A-T.
Definition
- 1Pronunciation spelling of that.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how dat appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Pidgin is a combination of expressions and phrases that are recognizable to those who speak it. To non-Pidgin speakers, it may sound like slang. For example, “dat” means that and “fadda” means father or dad.
Etymology
Pronuctiation spelling of that, representing dialects with th-stopping. Compare Dutch dat, Low German dat, and German das.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "dat"?
What does "dat" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "dat"?
How do you pronounce "dat"?
What is the origin of the word "dat"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dat", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "dat". Here's where to go from here.
- "dat" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "do". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #13,898 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.