Which to use
“sous” is a preposition and “sus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,337
- “sous” frequency rank
- #15,757
- “sus” frequency rank
- 45094
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sous | sus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unter (unterhalb von) | Schwester |
Where the eye mixes sous and sus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sous with sus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sous is [su] while sus is [sœs]. 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 (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45094, 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]. sus is at rank #15,757, tagged as anoun, pronounced [sœs].
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 45094, this pair ranks #1,364,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sous vs sus
Shared letters: su. Private to "sous": o. Private to "sus": -.
"sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sous ← osus · sosu · souss · ssous · suos
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sous" and "sus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sous" or "sus"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "sous" and "sus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sous" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,364,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sous" and "sus" 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 #1,364,694 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.