Which to use
“sic” is an adverb and “su” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,684
- “sic” frequency rank
- #8,094
- “su” frequency rank
- 20778
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sic | su |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Thus; as written; used to indicate, for example, that text is being quoted as it is from the source. | Alternative form of xu (“former Vietnamese currency”). |
Letter map: sic vs su
Shared letters muted; letters that set sic and su apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Grammar separator: sic vs su
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sic is anadverb and suanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sic is recorded at frequency rank #12,684, classified as anadv, pronounced /sɪk/. su is at rank #8,094, tagged as anoun.
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 20778, this pair ranks #428,725 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sic vs su
Shared letters: s. Private to "sic": ci. Private to "su": u.
"sic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "su" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sic" and "su" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sic" vs "su" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "sic" and "su".
- Full dictionary entry for "sic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "su" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #428,725 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sic" and "su" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sic vs Sif". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #428,725 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.