Which to use
“that” is a conjunction and “thug” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,648
- “that” frequency rank
- #32,793
- “thug” frequency rank
- 36441
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | that | thug |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que | capanga, bandido, criminoso |
Where the eye mixes that and thug
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: that vs thug
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: that is /ðæt/ while thug is /θʌɡ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
that is recorded at frequency rank #3,648, classified as aconj, pronounced /ðæt/. thug is at rank #32,793, tagged as anoun, pronounced /θʌɡ/.
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 36441, this pair ranks #30,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of that vs thug
Shared letters: ht. Private to "that": a. Private to "thug": gu.
"that" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "thug" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "that" for "thug" ever safe?
Which is more common, "that" or "thug"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "that" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "that" and "thug" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "thug vs tous". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #30,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.