that
/ðət/
"that" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“that” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #10 in English word frequency and used as a conjunction.
- #10
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc.
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 | that |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Conjunction |
| IPA | /ðət/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “that” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for that is 4 letters long, classified as a conjunction, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ðət/. Corpus data places it at rank #10 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for that, with forms such as "htat", "taht", and "thatt". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TT", "the", "tho", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English that, from Old English þæt (“the, that”, neuter definite article and relative pronoun), from Proto-West Germanic *þat, from Proto-Germanic *þat. Cognate to Scots that, Saterland Frisian dät, West Frisian dat, Dutch dat, Low German dat an… The correct English form is that, spelled T-H-A-T.
Definition
- 1Introducing a clause that is the object of a verb, especially a reporting verb or verb expressing belief, knowledge, perception, etc.
- 2Introducing a clause that is the subject of a verb, especially the 'be' verb or a verb expressing judgement, opinion, etc.
- 3Introducing a clause that is the subject of a verb, especially the 'be' verb or a verb expressing judgement, opinion, etc.
- 4Introducing a clause that complements an adjective or passive participle.
- 5Introducing a clause that complements an adjective or passive participle.
- 6Introducing a subordinate clause modifying an adverb.
- 7Introducing a clause that describes the information content of a preceding reporting noun.
- 8Introducing — especially, but not exclusively, with an antecedent like so or such — a subordinate clause expressing a result, consequence, or effect.
- 9Introducing a subordinate clause that expresses an aim, purpose, or goal ("final"), and usually contains the auxiliaries may, might, or should: so, so that, in order that.
- 10Introducing a premise or supposition for consideration: seeing as; inasmuch as; given that; as would appear from the fact that.
- 11Introducing an exclamation expressing a desire or wish.
- 12Introducing an exclamation expressing a strong emotion such as sadness or surprise.
Etymology
From Middle English that, from Old English þæt (“the, that”, neuter definite article and relative pronoun), from Proto-West Germanic *þat, from Proto-Germanic *þat. Cognate to Scots that, Saterland Frisian dät, West Frisian dat, Dutch dat, Low German dat and datt, German dass and das, Danish det, Swedish det, Icelandic það, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐍄𐌰 (þata). Further from Proto-Indo-European *tód; compare Ancient Greek τό (tó), Sanskrit तद् (tád), Waigali ta, Lithuanian tai̇̃, Polish to.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: htat,taht,thatt,thhat,thta,tthat
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of that - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “that”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-H-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ðət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “TT” - see the side-by-side comparison. that vs TT
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.