Which to use
“cis” is an adjective and “cuts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,115
- “cis” frequency rank
- #3,477
- “cuts” frequency rank
- 16592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cis | cuts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having two mutations on two genes on the same chromosome of a homologous pair. | plural of cut |
Where the eye mixes cis and cuts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cis vs cuts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cis is /sɪs/ while cuts is /kʌts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16592, 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/. cuts is at rank #3,477, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kʌts/.
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 16592, this pair ranks #456,789 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cis vs cuts
Shared letters: cs. Private to "cis": i. Private to "cuts": tu.
"cis" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "cuts" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cuts ← ccuts · ctus · cust · cutss · cutts · ucts
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cis" for "cuts" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cis" vs "cuts" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cuts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #456,789 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cis" and "cuts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cis vs Crist". 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 #456,789 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.