Which to use
“sign” is a noun and “singen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,142
- “sign” frequency rank
- #2,319
- “singen” frequency rank
- 24461
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sign | singen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Zeichen, Geste | ein Lied (oder eine Melodie) mit der eigenen Stimme hervorbringen |
Where the eye mixes sign and singen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sign runs 4 letters (CVCC) against singen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between sign and singen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sign is [saɪn] while singen is [ˈzɪŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24461, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sign is recorded at frequency rank #22,142, classified as anoun, pronounced [saɪn]. singen is at rank #2,319, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪŋən].
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 24461, this pair ranks #1,847,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sign vs singen
Shared letters: gins. Private to "sign": -. Private to "singen": e.
"sign" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "singen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sign" for "singen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "sign" or "singen" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sign" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "singen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,847,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sign" and "singen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs sign". 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 #1,847,287 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.