sisvsskinsWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#37,202
“sis” frequency rank
#33,820
“skins” frequency rank
71022
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sis skins
Definition sechs (6) Plural des Substantivs skin

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sis and skins apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
sis
5 ch
skins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sis is [sis] while skins is [skɪnz]. 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sis is recorded at frequency rank #37,202, classified as anum, pronounced [sis]. skins is at rank #33,820, tagged as anoun, pronounced [skɪnz].

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 71022, this pair ranks #428,963 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sis vs skins

Shared letters: is. Private to "sis": -. Private to "skins": kn.

"sis" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "skins" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • skinsksins · sikns · skinns · skinss · skisn · skkins · sknis · sskins

Frequency comparison

sis#37,202
skins#33,820

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sis" and "skins" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sis" is a num and "skins" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sis" or "skins"?
"skins" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,820 in our German list, against #37,202 for "sis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sis vs skins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “sis”; for a noun, it's “skins”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sis” 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