Which to use
“sic” is an adverb and “sum” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,684
- “sic” frequency rank
- #4,050
- “sum” frequency rank
- 16734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sic | sum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Thus; as written; used to indicate, for example, that text is being quoted as it is from the source. | A quantity obtained by addition or aggregation. |
Where the eye mixes sic and sum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between sic and sum
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sic is /sɪk/ while sum is /sʌm/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sic is recorded at frequency rank #12,684, classified as anadv, pronounced /sɪk/. sum is at rank #4,050, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sʌm/.
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 16734, this pair ranks #455,892 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sic vs sum
Shared letters: s. Private to "sic": ci. Private to "sum": mu.
"sic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sic" for "sum" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "sic" or "sum" show up more?
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 "sic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #455,892 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sic" and "sum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sic vs Sif". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #455,892 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.