Which to use
“Ski” and “Skier” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,880
- “Ski” frequency rank
- #46,283
- “Skier” frequency rank
- 52163
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ski | Skier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gleitgerät zur Fortbewegung im Schnee oder Wasser | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ski |
Where the eye mixes Ski and Skier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Ski vs Skier
A purely visual mix-up. Ski ([ʃiː]) and Skier ([ˈʃiːɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Ski” sits inside “Skier”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ski is recorded at frequency rank #5,880, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃiː]. Skier is at rank #46,283, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃiːɐ].
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 52163, this pair ranks #1,107,634 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Ski vs Skier
Shared letters: iks. Private to "Ski": -. Private to "Skier": er.
"Ski" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "Skier" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Skier ← ksier · siker · skeir · skierr · skire · skkier · sskier
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ski" and "Skier" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Ski" or "Skier"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ski" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Skier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,107,634 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ski" and "Skier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Skier vs sniper". 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 #1,107,634 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.