Which to use
“sample” and “smile” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,859
- “sample” frequency rank
- #2,316
- “smile” frequency rank
- 5175
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sample | smile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A part or snippet of something taken or presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen. | A facial expression comprised by flexing the muscles of both ends of one's mouth, often showing the front teeth, without vocalisation, and in humans is a common involuntary or voluntary expression of happiness, pleasure, amusement, goodwill, or anxiety. |
Where the eye mixes sample and smile
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sample and smile
A purely visual mix-up. sample (/ˈsɑːm.pəl/) and smile (/ˈsmaɪl/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sample is recorded at frequency rank #2,859, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɑːm.pəl/. smile is at rank #2,316, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsmaɪl/.
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 5175, this pair ranks #516,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sample vs smile
Shared letters: elms. Private to "sample": ap. Private to "smile": i.
"sample" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "smile" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sample" and "smile" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sample" or "smile"?
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 "sample" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "smile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #516,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sample" and "smile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "SLE vs smile". 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 #516,317 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.