Which to use
“spun” and “sup” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,799
- “spun” frequency rank
- #13,818
- “sup” frequency rank
- 25617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spun | sup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of spin | To sip; to take a small amount of food or drink into the mouth, especially with a spoon. |
Where the eye mixes spun and sup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses spun with sup
A purely visual mix-up. spun (/spʌn/) and sup (/sʌp/) 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 25617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spun is recorded at frequency rank #11,799, classified as averb, pronounced /spʌn/. 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 25617, this pair ranks #392,891 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spun vs sup
Shared letters: psu. Private to "spun": n. Private to "sup": -.
"spun" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "sup" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- spun ← psun · spnu · sppun · spunn · sspun · supn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spun" and "sup" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "spun" or "sup"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "spun" 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 #392,891 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spun" and "sup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sup 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 #392,891 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.