sisvsSPÖWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: sis is a num, SPÖ is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#37,202
“sis” frequency rank
#3,776
“SPÖ” frequency rank
40978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sis SPÖ
Definition sechs (6) Kurzbezeichnung, Abkürzung für Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, von 1945 bis 1991 Sozialistische Partei Österreichs.

Where the eye mixes sis and SPÖ

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
sis
3 ch
SPÖ

Why the eye confuses sis with SPÖ

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sis is [sis] while SPÖ is [ɛspeːˈʔøː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40978, 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]. SPÖ is at rank #3,776, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ɛspeːˈʔøː].

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 40978, this pair ranks #1,492,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sis vs SPÖ

Shared letters: s. Private to "sis": i. Private to "SPÖ": .

"sis" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "SPÖ" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sis" for "SPÖ" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sis" is a num and "SPÖ" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "sis" vs "SPÖ" - which ranks higher?
"SPÖ" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,776 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "SPÖ" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,492,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sis" and "SPÖ" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs sis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,492,789 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