shitvssixWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: shit is a verb, six is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#6,592
“shit” frequency rank
#14,932
“six” frequency rank
21524
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature shit six
Definition den Darm entleeren sechs

Where the eye mixes shit and six

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

4 ch
shit
3 ch
six

Look-alike desk: shit vs six

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shit is [ʃɪt] while six is [sɪks]. 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 (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

shit is recorded at frequency rank #6,592, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃɪt]. six is at rank #14,932, tagged as anum, pronounced [sɪks].

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 21524, this pair ranks #1,885,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of shit vs six

Shared letters: is. Private to "shit": ht. Private to "six": x.

"shit" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "six" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • shithsit · shhit · shitt · shti · siht · sshit

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "shit" and "six" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "shit" is a verb and "six" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "shit" or "six"?
"shit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,592 in our German list, against #14,932 for "six". 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 "shit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "six" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,885,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "shit" and "six" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs six". 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 #1,885,279 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