sin
/ˈsɪn/noun, verb
sin is spelled S-I-N: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sin means “A violation of divine will or religious law” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sin is sins.
How many letters and syllables are in sin?
| Letters | 3: S-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 23 times per million words; the 3,814th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sin?
Sin appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sin?
- /ˈsɪn/
- [ˈsɪn]
As a noun (“A letter of the Hebrew alphabet; שׂ”): /sɪn/, /siːn/.
Sin has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sin.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sin?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as sin.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ins, nis.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sin
- sins plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sinning participle, present
- sinned participle, past
- seen
- sīn
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A violation of divine will or religious law.
As a Christian, I think this is a sin against God.
- 2
Sinfulness, depravity, iniquity.
- 3
A misdeed or wrong.
- 4
A sin offering; a sacrifice for sin.
- 5
An embodiment of sin; a very wicked person.
- 6
A flaw or mistake.
No movie is without sin.
- 7
sin bin
- 8
A letter of the Hebrew alphabet; שׂ
- 9
A letter of the Arabic alphabet; س
- 10
Alternative form of sinh (“tube skirt”).
verb
- 1
To commit a sin.
noun
- 1
CanadaInitialism of social insurance number, an identification number issued by the government of Canada.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | péché , pécher |
| German | Sünde , sündigen |
| Portuguese | pecado , pecar , transgressão |
| Spanish | pecado , pecar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sin come from?
From Middle English sinne, synne, sunne, zen, from Old English synn (“sin”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnju, from Proto-Germanic *sunjō (“truth, excuse”) and *sundī, *sundijō (“sin”), from , from *h₁sónts ("being, true", implying a verdict of "truly guilty" against an accusation or charge), from *h₁es- (“to be”); compare Old English sōþ ("true"; see sooth). Doublet of suttee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).