sezvsskewWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“sez” and “skew” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,041
“sez” frequency rank
#28,725
“skew” frequency rank
77766
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sez skew
Definition Eye dialect spelling of says. To form or shape in an oblique way; to cause to take an oblique position.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sez and skew apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
sez
4 ch
skew

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sez (/sɛz/) and skew (/skjuː/) 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 77766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sez is recorded at frequency rank #49,041, classified as averb, pronounced /sɛz/. skew is at rank #28,725, tagged as averb, pronounced /skjuː/.

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 77766, this pair ranks #26,329 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sez vs skew

Shared letters: es. Private to "sez": z. Private to "skew": kw.

"sez" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "skew" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • skewksew · sekw · skeww · skkew · skwe · sskew

Frequency comparison

sez#49,041
skew#28,725

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sez" and "skew" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/sɛz/ versus /skjuː/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sez" or "skew"?
"skew" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,725 in our English list, against #49,041 for "sez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sez vs skew

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sez” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list