seguevssueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“segue” and “sue” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,626
“segue” frequency rank
#4,985
“sue” frequency rank
54611
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature segue sue
Definition To move smoothly from one state or subject to another. To file a legal action against someone, generally a non-criminal (civil) action.

Where the eye mixes segue and sue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
segue
3 ch
sue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. segue (/ˈsɛɡweɪ/) and sue (/sjuː/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

segue is recorded at frequency rank #49,626, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈsɛɡweɪ/. sue is at rank #4,985, tagged as averb, pronounced /sjuː/.

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 54611, this pair ranks #139,724 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of segue vs sue

Shared letters: esu. Private to "segue": g. Private to "sue": -.

"segue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "sue" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • segueesgue · segeu · seggue · seuge · sgeue · ssegue

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "segue" and "sue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈsɛɡweɪ/ versus /sjuː/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "segue" or "sue"?
"sue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,985 in our English list, against #49,626 for "segue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list