Which to use
“sop” is a noun and “sup” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,293
- “sop” frequency rank
- #13,818
- “sup” frequency rank
- 48111
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sop | sup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something entirely soaked. | To sip; to take a small amount of food or drink into the mouth, especially with a spoon. |
Where the eye mixes sop and sup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sop vs sup
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sop is /sɒp/ while sup is /sʌp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “sop” becomes u in “sup”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sop is recorded at frequency rank #34,293, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɒp/. sup is at rank #13,818, tagged as averb, pronounced /sʌp/.
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 48111, this pair ranks #196,174 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sop vs sup
Shared letters: ps. Private to "sop": o. Private to "sup": u.
"sop" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sup" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sop" for "sup" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sop" vs "sup" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sop" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,174 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sop" and "sup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sif vs sop". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #196,174 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.