Which to use
“sous” is a preposition and “Spur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,337
- “sous” frequency rank
- #2,469
- “Spur” frequency rank
- 31806
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sous | Spur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unter (unterhalb von) | hinweisgebende Hinterlassenschaft |
Where the eye mixes sous and Spur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sous vs Spur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sous is [su] while Spur is [ʃpuːɐ̯]. 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 (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sous is recorded at frequency rank #29,337, classified as aprep, pronounced [su]. Spur is at rank #2,469, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpuːɐ̯].
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 31806, this pair ranks #1,720,619 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sous vs Spur
Shared letters: su. Private to "sous": o. Private to "Spur": pr.
"sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Spur" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sous" and "Spur" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sous" vs "Spur" - which ranks higher?
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 "sous" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,720,619 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sous" and "Spur" 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 #1,720,619 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.