sai vs sis, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“sai” is a verb and “sis” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,708
“sai” frequency rank: #37,202
“sis” frequency rank: 84910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sai	sis
Definition	2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sapere	sechs (6)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sai and sis apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

sai

3 ch

sis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sai is [ˈsai̯] while sis is [sis]. 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 (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sai is recorded at frequency rank #47,708, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsai̯]. sis is at rank #37,202, tagged as anum, pronounced [sis].

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 84910, this pair ranks #116,322 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sai vs sis

Shared letters: is. Private to "sai": a. Private to "sis": -.

"sai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "sis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

sai#47,708

sis#37,202

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sai" and "sis" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sai" is a verb and "sis" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "sai" or "sis"?

"sis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,202 in our German list, against #47,708 for "sai". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sai vs sis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sai”; for a num, it's “sis”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sai” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable