Which to use
“sig” and “sighs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,497
- “sig” frequency rank
- #17,719
- “sighs” frequency rank
- 38216
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sig | sighs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A signature, especially one on emails or newsgroup postings. | plural of sigh |
Where the eye mixes sig and sighs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sig runs 3 letters (CVC) against sighs's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: sig vs sighs
A purely visual mix-up. sig (/sɪɡ/) and sighs (/saɪz/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “sig” sits inside “sighs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sig is recorded at frequency rank #20,497, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɪɡ/. sighs is at rank #17,719, tagged as anoun, pronounced /saɪz/.
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 38216, this pair ranks #287,853 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sig vs sighs
Shared letters: gis. Private to "sig": -. Private to "sighs": h.
"sig" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sighs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sighs ← isghs · sgihs · sigghs · sighhs · sighss · sigsh · sihgs · ssighs
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sig" and "sighs" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "sig" or "sighs" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sighs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,853 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sig" and "sighs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sif vs sig". 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 #287,853 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.