Which to use
“skill” is a noun and “still” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,171
- “skill” frequency rank
- #2,993
- “still” frequency rank
- 29164
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skill | still |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Fähigkeit, etwas mit Sachverstand und Können zu tun, speziell durch Übung und Erfahrung | im Zustand der Bewegungslosigkeit, der Unbewegtheit und der Ruhe |
Where the eye mixes skill and still
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses skill with still
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: skill is [skɪl] while still is [ʃtɪl]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - k in “skill” becomes t in “still”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
skill is recorded at frequency rank #26,171, classified as anoun, pronounced [skɪl]. still is at rank #2,993, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃtɪl].
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 29164, this pair ranks #1,771,838 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of skill vs still
Shared letters: ils. Private to "skill": k. Private to "still": t.
"skill" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "still" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "skill" and "still" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "skill" or "still"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "skill" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "still" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,771,838 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "skill" and "still" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sil vs skill". 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 #1,771,838 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.