SimonsvsSimsonWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#21,426
“Simons” frequency rank
#33,814
“Simson” frequency rank
55240
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Simons Simson
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Simon Geliebter von Delila im Alten Testament

Where the eye mixes Simons and Simson

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Simons
6 ch
Simson

Why the eye confuses Simons with Simson

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Simons is [ˈziːmɔns] while Simson is [ˈzɪmzɔn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Simons is recorded at frequency rank #21,426, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈziːmɔns]. Simson is at rank #33,814, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈzɪmzɔn].

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 55240, this pair ranks #987,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Simons vs Simson

Shared letters: imnos. Private to "Simons": -. Private to "Simson": -.

"Simons" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Simson" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Simonsismons · simmons · simnos · simonns · simonss · simosn · siomns · smions
  • Simsonismson · simmson · simsno · simsonn · simsson · sismon · smison · ssimson

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Simons" for "Simson" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Simons" is a noun and "Simson" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Simons" or "Simson" show up more?
"Simons" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,426 in our German list, against #33,814 for "Simson". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Simons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Simson" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #987,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Simons" and "Simson" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Simson vs Sion". 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 #987,238 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