# sift vs sil

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sift
*verb · IPA /sɪft/ · frequency rank #28,368*
To sieve or strain (something).

### sil
*noun · frequency rank #29,461*
A yellowish pigment used by painters in ancient times.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sift-vs-sil