Which to use
“seeks” and “seem” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,836
- “seeks” frequency rank
- #883
- “seem” frequency rank
- 6719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seeks | seem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of seek | To appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as. |
Where the eye mixes seeks and seem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: seeks vs seem
A purely visual mix-up. seeks (/siːks/) and seem (/siːm/) 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 6719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seeks is recorded at frequency rank #5,836, classified as averb, pronounced /siːks/. seem is at rank #883, tagged as averb, pronounced /siːm/.
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 6719, this pair ranks #510,263 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seeks vs seem
Shared letters: es. Private to "seeks": k. Private to "seem": m.
"seeks" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "seem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "seeks" and "seem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "seeks" or "seem"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "seeks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #510,263 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seeks" and "seem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seeks vs stews". 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 #510,263 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.