são vs stu, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“são” is an adjective and “stu” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,080
“são” frequency rank: #47,032
“stu” frequency rank: 67112
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	são	stu
Definition	gesund	Dativ Singular des Numerales sto

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set são and stu apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

são

3 ch

stu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: são is [sɐ̃w] while stu is [stʊ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

são is recorded at frequency rank #20,080, classified as anadj, pronounced [sɐ̃w]. stu is at rank #47,032, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [stʊ].

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 67112, this pair ranks #550,903 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of são vs stu

Shared letters: s. Private to "são": oã. Private to "stu": tu.

"são" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "stu" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequency comparison

são#20,080

stu#47,032

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "são" and "stu" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "são" is an adjective and "stu" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "são" or "stu"?

"são" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,080 in our German list, against #47,032 for "stu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering são vs stu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “são”; for an unknown, it's “stu”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “são” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable