sing

/sɪŋ/

//sɪŋ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sing" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sing” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,810. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,810
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sing · sing · English

sing · rank #2,810 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,810
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH significantly

Nearest frequency peer: significantly (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sing”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sing” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sing vs six
50% similar
sing vs son
50% similar
sing vs sir
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sing
PropertyValue
Headwordsing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/sɪŋ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,810
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sing”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).singlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “significantly” (#2,809), “soviet” (#2,811), “sight” (#2,808). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sing” is #2,810. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around sing (IPA /sɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,810 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for sing, with forms such as "isng", "singg", and "sinng". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "six", "son", "sir", 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 singen, from Old English singan (“to sing”), from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ- (“to recite, sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian sjunge (“to sing”), West Fri… The correct English form is sing, spelled S-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.
  2. 2
    To perform a vocal part in a musical composition, regardless of technique.
  3. 3
    To express audibly by means of a harmonious vocalization.
  4. 4
    To soothe with singing.
  5. 5
    Of birds, to vocalise:
  6. 6
    Of birds, to vocalise:
  7. 7
    To confess under interrogation.
  8. 8
    To make a small, shrill sound.
  9. 9
    To relate in verse; to celebrate in poetry.
  10. 10
    To display fine qualities; to stand out as excellent.
  11. 11
    To be capable of being sung; to produce a certain effect by being sung.
  12. 12
    In traditional Aboriginal culture, to direct a supernatural influence on (a person or thing), usually malign; to curse.
  13. 13
    To yell or shout.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "I really want to sing in the school choir," said Vera.
  2. And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders, and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Etymology

From Middle English singen, from Old English singan (“to sing”), from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ- (“to recite, sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian sjunge (“to sing”), West Frisian sjonge (“to sing”), Dutch zingen (“to sing”), German Low German singen (“to sing”), German singen (“to sing”), Danish synge (“to sing”), Swedish sjunga (“to sing”), Icelandic syngja (“to sing”), Ancient Greek ὀμφή (omphḗ, “voice, oracle”).

Synonyms

sing

Antonyms

lip-synclip syncmimemouth

This word in other languages

cantar(Español)chanter(Français)singen(Deutsch)cantar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isng
  • singg
  • sinng
  • snig
  • ssing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sing - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

isng2singg1sinng1snig2ssing1
Edit distance from "sing"

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

How do you spell "sing"?
"sing" is spelled S-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪŋ/.
What does "sing" mean?
As a verb, "sing" means: To produce musical or harmonious sounds with one’s voice.
What words are commonly confused with "sing"?
"sing" is commonly confused with "six", "son", "sir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sing" is /sɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sing"?
From Middle English singen, from Old English singan (“to sing”), from Proto-West Germanic *singwan, from Proto-Germanic *singwaną (“to sing”), from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷʰ- (“to recite, sing”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian sjunge (“to sing”)... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

quit#2,805ages#2,816bike#2,819burn#2,821

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

cake5 variantshide5 variantshe'll5 variantshaha5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list