Which to use
“sac” and “Scan” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,101
- “sac” frequency rank
- #20,044
- “Scan” frequency rank
- 62145
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sac | Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Transport- und Aufbewahrungsbehältnis aus grobem Stoff oder robustem Material | Kopie beziehungsweise das Abbild einer Vorlage, die mit Hilfe eines Scanners erstellt wurde |
Where the eye mixes sac and Scan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. sac runs 3 letters (CVC) against Scan's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sac with Scan
A purely visual mix-up. sac ([sak]) and Scan ([skɛn]) 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 62145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sac is recorded at frequency rank #42,101, classified as anoun, pronounced [sak]. Scan is at rank #20,044, tagged as anoun, pronounced [skɛn].
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 62145, this pair ranks #723,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sac vs Scan
Shared letters: acs. Private to "sac": -. Private to "Scan": n.
"sac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Scan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Scan ← csan · sacn · scann · sccan · scna · sscan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sac" for "Scan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sac" vs "Scan" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Scan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #723,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sac" and "Scan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sac vs seg". 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 #723,566 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.