Which to use
“skill” and “skin” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,726
- “skill” frequency rank
- #18,716
- “skin” frequency rank
- 60442
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skill | skin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | habilidade, capacidade para realizar uma tarefa | pele |
Where the eye mixes skill and skin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses skill with skin
A purely visual mix-up. skill (/skɪl/) and skin (/ˈskin/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60442, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
skill is recorded at frequency rank #41,726, classified as anoun, pronounced /skɪl/. 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 60442, this pair ranks #7,657 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of skill vs skin
Shared letters: iks. Private to "skill": l. Private to "skin": n.
"skill" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "skin" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "skill" and "skin" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "skill" or "skin"?
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 "skill" 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 #7,657 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "skill" and "skin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "skill vs skol". 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 #7,657 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.