they're
/ðɛə/
"they-re" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“they're” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #321. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #321
- frequency rank, English
- 27,828
- “T” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Contraction of they + are.
Corpus desk
Index EN-they-re · they're · English
they're · rank #321 · 10 variants · 7 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #321
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 27,828
- PHOTO-FINISH general
Nearest frequency peer: general (-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 “they're”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- children
children
99,683 corpus weight
- everyone
everyone
99,682 corpus weight
- general
general
99,681 corpus weight
- they're
they're
99,680 corpus weight
- trying
trying
99,679 corpus weight
- united
united
99,678 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “they're” 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 | they're |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Contraction |
| IPA | /ðɛə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #321 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “they're” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around they're (IPA /ðɛə/), acontraction. Corpus frequency is #321 among 27,828 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Contraction of they + are.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for they're, with forms such as "htey're", "tehy're", and "the'yre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "they've", "there", "they'd", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is they're, spelled T-H-E-Y-'-R-E.
Definition
- 1Contraction of they + are.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- htey're
- tehy're
- the'yre
- they'er
- they'rre
- theyr'e
- theyy're
- thhey're
- thye're
- tthey're
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of they're - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "they're"?
What does "they're" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "they're"?
How do you pronounce "they're"?
What language does "they're" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "they're", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).
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.