Which to use
“cis” is an adjective and “cry” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,115
- “cis” frequency rank
- #2,525
- “cry” frequency rank
- 15640
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cis | cry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having two mutations on two genes on the same chromosome of a homologous pair. | To shed tears; to weep, especially in anger or sadness. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cis and cry apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cis and cry form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cis is recorded at frequency rank #13,115, classified as anadj, pronounced /sɪs/. cry is at rank #2,525, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɹaɪ/.
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 15640, this pair ranks #462,712 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cis" and "cry" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cis vs cry
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cis”; for a verb, it's “cry”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cis” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable