Which to use
“sic” is an adverb and “skin” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,836
- “sic” frequency rank
- #18,716
- “skin” frequency rank
- 26552
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sic | skin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | assim | pele |
Where the eye mixes sic and skin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sic with skin
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sic is /siːk/ while skin is /ˈskin/. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sic is recorded at frequency rank #7,836, classified as anadv, pronounced /siːk/. skin is at rank #18,716, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈskin/.
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 26552, this pair ranks #42,598 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sic vs skin
Shared letters: is. Private to "sic": c. Private to "skin": kn.
"sic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "skin" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- skin ← ksin · sikn · skinn · skkin · skni · sskin
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sic" for "skin" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sic" or "skin"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "skin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,598 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sic" and "skin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "skin vs slip". 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 #42,598 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.