silvssisWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#48,487
“sil” frequency rank
#37,202
“sis” frequency rank
85689
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sil sis
Definition Küchengerät mit vielen Löschern; Sieb sechs (6)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sil and sis apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
sil
3 ch
sis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sil is anoun and sisanum. On the page they differ by a single letter - l in “sil” becomes s in “sis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85689, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sil is recorded at frequency rank #48,487, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. 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 85689, this pair ranks #104,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sil vs sis

Shared letters: is. Private to "sil": l. Private to "sis": -.

"sil" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "sis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

sil#48,487
sis#37,202

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sil" and "sis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sil" is a noun and "sis" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sil" or "sis"?
"sis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,202 in our German list, against #48,487 for "sil". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sil vs sis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sil”; for a num, it's “sis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sil” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list