Which to use
“sift” is a verb and “six” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,368
- “sift” frequency rank
- #519
- “six” frequency rank
- 28887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sift | six |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To sieve or strain (something). | A numerical value equal to 6; the number following five and preceding seven. This number of dots: (••••••). |
Where the eye mixes sift and six
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sift vs six
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sift is /sɪft/ while six is /sɪks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sift is recorded at frequency rank #28,368, classified as averb, pronounced /sɪft/. six is at rank #519, tagged as anum, pronounced /sɪks/.
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 28887, this pair ranks #367,502 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sift vs six
Shared letters: is. Private to "sift": ft. Private to "six": x.
"sift" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "six" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sift ← isft · sfit · sifft · siftt · sitf · ssift
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sift" for "six" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sift" or "six"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sift" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "six" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #367,502 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sift" and "six" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sif vs sift". 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 #367,502 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.