sansvssuisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sans is a preposition, suis is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sans” is a preposition and “suis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,370
“sans” frequency rank
#42,166
“suis” frequency rank
61536
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sans suis
Definition ohne, -los Inessiv Plural des Substantivs suu „Mund“

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sans and suis apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sans
4 ch
suis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sans is apreposition and suisanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sans is recorded at frequency rank #19,370, classified as aprep, pronounced [sɑ̃]. suis is at rank #42,166, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 61536, this pair ranks #746,065 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sans vs suis

Shared letters: s. Private to "sans": an. Private to "suis": iu.

"sans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "suis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sansasns · sanns · sanss · sasn · snas · ssans
  • suissius · ssuis · suiss · susi · usis

Frequency comparison

sans#19,370
suis#42,166

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sans" and "suis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sans" is a preposition and "suis" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sans" or "suis"?
"sans" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,370 in our German list, against #42,166 for "suis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sans vs suis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “sans”; for a noun, it's “suis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sans” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list