Which to use
“sim” is an adverb and “spin” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #147
- “sim” frequency rank
- #19,560
- “spin” frequency rank
- 19707
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sim | spin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | exprime afirmação, acordo, aprovação, permissão ou consentimento | aranha |
Where the eye mixes sim and spin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sim vs spin
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sim is /ˈsĩ/ while spin is /spɪn/ ouvir^(fonte ?). 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 19707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sim is recorded at frequency rank #147, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈsĩ/. spin is at rank #19,560, tagged as anoun, pronounced /spɪn/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 19707, this pair ranks #50,974 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sim vs spin
Shared letters: is. Private to "sim": m. Private to "spin": np.
"sim" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "spin" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- spin ← psin · sipn · spinn · spni · sppin · sspin
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sim" for "spin" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sim" vs "spin" - which ranks higher?
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 "sim" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #50,974 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sim" and "spin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "slip vs spin". 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 #50,974 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.