since
/sɪn(t)s/
"since" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“since” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #175 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #175
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - From a specified time in the past.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | since |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /sɪn(t)s/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #175 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “since” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for since is 5 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sɪn(t)s/. Corpus data places it at rank #175 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "From a specified time in the past.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for since, with forms such as "isnce", "sicne", and "sincce". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "site", "size", "sing", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English syns, synnes, contraction of earlier sithens, sithence, from sithen (“after, since”) ( + -s, adverbial genitive suffix), from Old English sīþþan, from the phrase sīþ þǣm (“after/since that (time)”), from sīþ (“since, after”) + þǣm dative… The correct English form is since, spelled S-I-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1From a specified time in the past.
Etymology
From Middle English syns, synnes, contraction of earlier sithens, sithence, from sithen (“after, since”) ( + -s, adverbial genitive suffix), from Old English sīþþan, from the phrase sīþ þǣm (“after/since that (time)”), from sīþ (“since, after”) + þǣm dative singular of þæt. Cognate with Dutch sinds (“since”), German seit (“since”), Danish siden (“since”), Icelandic síðan (“since”) Scots syne (“since”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: isnce,sicne,sincce,sinec,sinnce,snice,ssince
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of since - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “since”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-I-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /sɪn(t)s/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “site” - see the side-by-side comparison. since vs site
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.