slumsvssumWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“slums” and “sum” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,467
“slums” frequency rank
#31,289
“sum” frequency rank
72756
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature slums sum
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs slum 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs esse

Letter map: slums vs sum

Shared letters muted; letters that set slums and sum apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
slums
3 ch
sum

Corpus notes: slums and sum

slums and sum are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

slums is recorded at frequency rank #41,467, classified as averb, pronounced […]. sum is at rank #31,289, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 72756, this pair ranks #379,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of slums vs sum

Shared letters: msu. Private to "slums": l. Private to "sum": -.

"slums" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • slumslsums · sllums · slmus · slumms · slumss · slusm · sslums · sulms

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "slums" and "sum" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "slums" vs "sum" - which ranks higher?
"sum" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,289 in our German list, against #41,467 for "slums". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "slums" and "sum". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "slums" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #379,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "slums" and "sum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs slums". 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 #379,352 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