sincevssingenConfusable pair

Quick tell: since is a adverb, singen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“since” is an adverb and “singen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,858
“since” frequency rank
#2,319
“singen” frequency rank
31177
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature since singen
Definition seitdem, seither ein Lied (oder eine Melodie) mit der eigenen Stimme hervorbringen

Where the eye mixes since and singen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
since
6 ch
singen

Why the eye confuses since with singen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: since is [sɪns] while singen is [ˈzɪŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31177, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

since is recorded at frequency rank #28,858, classified as anadv, pronounced [sɪns]. 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 31177, this pair ranks #1,733,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of since vs singen

Shared letters: eins. Private to "since": c. Private to "singen": g.

"since" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "singen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sinceisnce · sicne · sincce · sinec · sinnce · snice · ssince
  • singenisngen · signen · sinegn · singenn · singgen · singne · sinngen · snigen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "since" for "singen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "since" is an adverb and "singen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "since" or "singen"?
"singen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,319 in our German list, against #28,858 for "since". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "since" 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 #1,733,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "since" and "singen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "since vs Sire". 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 #1,733,328 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