salmavssigmaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: salma is a verb, sigma is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“salma” is a verb and “sigma” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,280
“salma” frequency rank
#36,291
“sigma” frequency rank
72571
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature salma sigma
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de salmar. Parte del intestino grueso que, en el hombre, continúa después del colon descendente, a la altura de la pelvis y es seguido por el recto. En esta parte los gases se acumulan para ser luego expulsados sin interferir con las heces.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
salma
5 ch
sigma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: salma is [ˈsalma] while sigma is [ˈsiɣ̞ma]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

salma is recorded at frequency rank #36,280, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsalma]. sigma is at rank #36,291, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsiɣ̞ma].

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 72571, this pair ranks #25,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of salma vs sigma

Shared letters: ams. Private to "salma": l. Private to "sigma": gi.

"salma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "sigma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • salmaaslma · salam · sallma · salmma · samla · slama · ssalma
  • sigmacigma · isgma · sgima · sigam · siggma · sigmma · simga · ssigma

Frequency comparison

salma#36,280
sigma#36,291

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "salma" and "sigma" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "salma" is a verb and "sigma" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "salma" or "sigma"?
"salma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,280 in our Spanish list, against #36,291 for "sigma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering salma vs sigma

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “salma”; for a noun, it's “sigma”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “salma” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list