SigmavsSigmarWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Sigma is a noun, Sigmar is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Sigma” is a noun and “Sigmar” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,330
“Sigma” frequency rank
#13,941
“Sigmar” frequency rank
43271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sigma Sigmar
Definition achtzehnter Buchstabe des griechischen Alphabets deutscher männlicher Vorname

Where the eye mixes Sigma and Sigmar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Sigma runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Sigmar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Sigma
6 ch
Sigmar

Look-alike desk: Sigma vs Sigmar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sigma is [ˈzɪɡma] while Sigmar is [ˈziːkmaːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Sigma” sits inside “Sigmar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sigma is recorded at frequency rank #29,330, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɪɡma]. Sigmar is at rank #13,941, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈziːkmaːɐ̯].

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 43271, this pair ranks #1,423,345 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sigma vs Sigmar

Shared letters: agims. Private to "Sigma": -. Private to "Sigmar": r.

"Sigma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Sigmar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sigma ← isgma · sgima · sigam · siggma · sigmma · simga · ssigma
  • Sigmar ← isgmar · sgimar · sigamr · siggmar · sigmarr · sigmmar · sigmra · simgar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Sigma" and "Sigmar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Sigma" is a noun and "Sigmar" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Sigma" or "Sigmar" show up more?
"Sigmar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,941 in our German list, against #29,330 for "Sigma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Sigma" and "Sigmar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Sigma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sigmar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,423,345 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sigma" and "Sigmar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sega vs Sigma". 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 #1,423,345 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