Which to use
“soya” and “spy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,026
- “soya” frequency rank
- #4,799
- “spy” frequency rank
- 44825
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | soya | spy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative form of soy. | A person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage). |
Where the eye mixes soya and spy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between soya and spy
A purely visual mix-up. soya (/ˈsɔɪ.ə/) and spy (/spaɪ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
soya is recorded at frequency rank #40,026, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɔɪ.ə/. spy is at rank #4,799, tagged as anoun, pronounced /spaɪ/.
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 44825, this pair ranks #226,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of soya vs spy
Shared letters: sy. Private to "soya": ao. Private to "spy": p.
"soya" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- soya ← osya · soay · soyya · ssoya · syoa
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "soya" for "spy" ever safe?
Frequency check: "soya" vs "spy" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "soya" and "spy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "soya" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #226,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "soya" and "spy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soya vs sura". 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 #226,965 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.