Which to use
“secs” and “sis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,894
- “secs” frequency rank
- #12,501
- “sis” frequency rank
- 37395
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | secs | sis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of sec; seconds | Clipping of sister. |
Where the eye mixes secs and sis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: secs vs sis
A purely visual mix-up. secs (/sɛks/) and sis (/sɪs/) 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 37395, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
secs is recorded at frequency rank #24,894, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɛks/. sis is at rank #12,501, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɪs/.
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 37395, this pair ranks #294,931 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of secs vs sis
Shared letters: s. Private to "secs": ce. Private to "sis": i.
"secs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- secs ← escs · sces · seccs · secss · sesc · ssecs
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "secs" and "sis" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "secs" or "sis" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "secs" and "sis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "secs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,931 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "secs" and "sis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "secs vs suds". 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 #294,931 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.