SeilvssisWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Seil is a noun, sis is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#10,937
“Seil” frequency rank
#37,202
“sis” frequency rank
48139
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Seil sis
Definition aus miteinander verdrillten Fäden, Drähten oder Ähnlichem bestehendes Gebilde sechs (6)

Where the eye mixes Seil and sis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Seil
3 ch
sis

Why the eye confuses Seil with sis

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Seil is [zaɪ̯l] while sis is [sis]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Seil is recorded at frequency rank #10,937, classified as anoun, pronounced [zaɪ̯l]. 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 48139, this pair ranks #1,259,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Seil vs sis

Shared letters: is. Private to "Seil": el. Private to "sis": -.

"Seil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "sis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Seilesil · seill · seli · siel · sseil

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Seil" and "sis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Seil" is a noun and "sis" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Seil" vs "sis" - which ranks higher?
"Seil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,937 in our German list, against #37,202 for "sis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Seil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,259,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Seil" and "sis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs sis". 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 #1,259,385 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list