Which to use
“sitting” and “string” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,469
- “sitting” frequency rank
- #3,658
- “string” frequency rank
- 5127
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sitting | string |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A period during which one is seated for a specific purpose. | A long, thin and flexible structure made from threads twisted together. |
Where the eye mixes sitting and string
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sitting vs string
A purely visual mix-up. sitting (/ˈsɪtɪŋ/) and string (/stɹɪŋ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sitting is recorded at frequency rank #1,469, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɪtɪŋ/. string is at rank #3,658, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɹɪŋ/.
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 5127, this pair ranks #516,484 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sitting vs string
Shared letters: ginst. Private to "sitting": -. Private to "string": r.
"sitting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "string" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sitting" for "string" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sitting" or "string"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "sitting" and "string" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sitting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "string" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #516,484 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sitting" and "string" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "string vs stringed". 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 #516,484 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.