Which to use
“sick” is an adjective and “sing” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,561
- “sick” frequency rank
- #20,435
- “sing” frequency rank
- 51996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sick | sing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | doente | cantar |
Letter map: sick vs sing
Shared letters muted; letters that set sick and sing apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: sick vs sing
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sick is anadjective and singaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sick is recorded at frequency rank #31,561, classified as anadj, pronounced /sɪk/. sing is at rank #20,435, tagged as averb.
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 51996, this pair ranks #13,123 of 75,631 scored Portuguese 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 Portuguese text, does "sick" or "sing" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "sick" and "sing".
- 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 #13,123 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sick" and "sing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sick vs sire". 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 #13,123 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.