Which to use
“Sudan” is a name and “Sultan” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,083
- “Sudan” frequency rank
- #12,178
- “Sultan” frequency rank
- 30261
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sudan | Sultan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Staat in Nordostafrika | islamischer Herrschertitel, der ab dem 10. Jahrhundert in verschiedenen Epochen und Gegenden der Welt benutzt wurde |
Where the eye mixes Sudan and Sultan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Sudan with Sultan
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sudan is [zuˈdaːn] while Sultan is [ˈzʊltaːn]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sudan is recorded at frequency rank #18,083, classified as aname, pronounced [zuˈdaːn]. Sultan is at rank #12,178, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzʊltaːn].
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 30261, this pair ranks #1,751,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Sudan vs Sultan
Shared letters: ansu. Private to "Sudan": d. Private to "Sultan": lt.
"Sudan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Sultan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Sudan" for "Sultan" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Sudan" or "Sultan"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Sudan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sultan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,751,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sudan" and "Sultan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "simultan vs Sultan". 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 #1,751,329 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.