sagevssigueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sage is a adjective, sigue is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sage” is an adjective and “sigue” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,140
“sage” frequency rank
#346
“sigue” frequency rank
42486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sage sigue
Definition Sabio, sensato, juicioso, prudente, acertado. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de seguir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sage and sigue apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sage
5 ch
sigue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sage is [saʒ] while sigue is [ˈsiɣ̞e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sage is recorded at frequency rank #42,140, classified as anadj, pronounced [saʒ]. sigue is at rank #346, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsiɣ̞e].

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 42486, this pair ranks #147,938 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sage vs sigue

Shared letters: egs. Private to "sage": a. Private to "sigue": iu.

"sage" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sigue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sageasge · saeg · sagge · sgae · ssage
  • siguecigue · isgue · sgiue · sigeu · siggue · siuge · ssigue

Frequency comparison

sage#42,140
sigue#346

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sage" and "sigue" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sage" is an adjective and "sigue" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sage" or "sigue"?
"sigue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #346 in our Spanish list, against #42,140 for "sage". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sage vs sigue

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “sage”; for a verb, it's “sigue”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sage” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list