Which to use
“skill” is a verb and “still” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,041
- “skill” frequency rank
- #17,827
- “still” frequency rank
- 56868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skill | still |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Séparer, diviser. | Qui ne fait pas de bruit, silencieux, muet. |
Where the eye mixes skill and still
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses skill with still
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: skill is \ˈskɪl\ while still is \ˈʃtɪl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - k in “skill” becomes t in “still”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
skill is recorded at frequency rank #39,041, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈskɪl\. still is at rank #17,827, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈʃtɪl\.
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 56868, this pair ranks #118,436 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of skill vs still
Shared letters: ils. Private to "skill": k. Private to "still": t.
"skill" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "still" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "skill" and "still" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "skill" or "still"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "skill" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "still" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,436 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "skill" and "still" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "skill vs skull". 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 #118,436 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.