Which to use
“sing” is a verb and “single” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,238
- “sing” frequency rank
- #10,761
- “single” frequency rank
- 36999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sing | single |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cantar | Dícese de cualquier cabo que laborea sencillo, como la braza, el amantillo, etc. cuando uno de sus chicotes está hecho firme en el peñol de la verga. |
Where the eye mixes sing and single
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sing vs single
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sing is /sɪŋ/ while single is [ˈsĩŋgle]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sing” sits inside “single”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36999, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sing is recorded at frequency rank #26,238, classified as averb, pronounced /sɪŋ/. single is at rank #10,761, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈsĩŋgle].
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 36999, this pair ranks #177,674 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sing vs single
Shared letters: gins. Private to "sing": -. Private to "single": el.
"sing" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "single" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sing" for "single" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sing" or "single"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sing" and "single" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "single" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #177,674 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sing" and "single" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sila vs sing". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #177,674 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.