Which to use
“sick” and “sing” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,317
- “sick” frequency rank
- #23,371
- “sing” frequency rank
- 68688
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sick | sing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de sicken. | Chanter (avec sa voix). |
Where the eye mixes sick and sing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sick vs sing
A purely visual mix-up. sick (\zɪk\) and sing (\ˈsɪŋ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68688, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sick is recorded at frequency rank #45,317, classified as averb, pronounced \zɪk\. sing is at rank #23,371, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈsɪŋ\.
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 68688, this pair ranks #58,092 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sick vs sing
Shared letters: is. Private to "sick": ck. Private to "sing": gn.
"sick" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sing" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sick" for "sing" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "sick" or "sing" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,092 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sick" and "sing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sicav vs sick". 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 #58,092 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.