Which to use
“Scout” is a noun and “sous” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,919
- “Scout” frequency rank
- #29,337
- “sous” frequency rank
- 54256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Scout | sous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mitglied der Jugendorganisation der Pfadfinder | unter (unterhalb von) |
Where the eye mixes Scout and sous
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Scout and sous
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Scout is [skaʊ̯t] while sous is [su]. 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 (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Scout is recorded at frequency rank #24,919, classified as anoun, pronounced [skaʊ̯t]. sous is at rank #29,337, tagged as aprep, pronounced [su].
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 54256, this pair ranks #1,025,915 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Scout vs sous
Shared letters: osu. Private to "Scout": ct. Private to "sous": -.
"Scout" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Scout" for "sous" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Scout" or "sous" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Scout" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sous" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,025,915 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Scout" and "sous" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sous vs SUVs". 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 #1,025,915 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.