Which to use
“sift” is a verb and “sixth” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,368
- “sift” frequency rank
- #3,785
- “sixth” frequency rank
- 32153
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sift | sixth |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To sieve or strain (something). | The ordinal form of the number six. |
Where the eye mixes sift and sixth
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sift vs sixth
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sift is /sɪft/ while sixth is /sɪksθ/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32153, 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/. sixth is at rank #3,785, tagged as anadj, pronounced /sɪksθ/.
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 32153, this pair ranks #340,215 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sift vs sixth
Shared letters: ist. Private to "sift": f. Private to "sixth": hx.
"sift" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sixth" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sift" and "sixth" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sift" or "sixth"?
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 "sift" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sixth" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #340,215 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sift" and "sixth" 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 #340,215 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.