Which to use
“Sigma” and “sign” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,330
- “Sigma” frequency rank
- #22,142
- “sign” frequency rank
- 51472
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sigma | sign |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | achtzehnter Buchstabe des griechischen Alphabets | Zeichen, Geste |
Where the eye mixes Sigma and sign
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Sigma runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against sign's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Sigma with sign
A purely visual mix-up. Sigma ([ˈzɪɡma]) and sign ([saɪn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51472, 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]. sign is at rank #22,142, tagged as anoun, pronounced [saɪn].
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 51472, this pair ranks #1,134,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Sigma vs sign
Shared letters: gis. Private to "Sigma": am. Private to "sign": n.
"Sigma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "sign" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Sigma" and "sign" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Sigma" vs "sign" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Sigma" and "sign" 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 "sign" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,134,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sigma" and "sign" 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 #1,134,256 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.