sealvssealsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: seal is a verb, seals is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“seal” is a verb and “seals” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,260
“seal” frequency rank
#42,123
“seals” frequency rank
74383
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seal seals
Definition dichten, abdichten Plural des Substantivs seal

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set seal and seals apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
seal
5 ch
seals

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: seal is averb and sealsanoun. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “seal” sits inside “seals”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74383, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seal is recorded at frequency rank #32,260, classified as averb, pronounced [siːl]. seals is at rank #42,123, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 74383, this pair ranks #334,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of seal vs seals

Shared letters: aels. Private to "seal": -. Private to "seals": -.

"seal" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "seals" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sealesal · seall · sela · sseal
  • sealsesals · sealls · sealss · seasl · selas · sseals

Frequency comparison

seal#32,260
seals#42,123

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "seal" and "seals" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "seal" is a verb and "seals" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "seal" or "seals"?
"seal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,260 in our German list, against #42,123 for "seals". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering seal vs seals

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list