Which to use
“spy” and “su” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,799
- “spy” frequency rank
- #8,094
- “su” frequency rank
- 12893
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spy | su |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage). | Alternative form of xu (“former Vietnamese currency”). |
Letter map: spy vs su
Shared letters muted; letters that set spy and su apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Corpus notes: spy and su
spy and su are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12893, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spy is recorded at frequency rank #4,799, classified as anoun, pronounced /spaɪ/. 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 12893, this pair ranks #478,940 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spy vs su
Shared letters: s. Private to "spy": py. Private to "su": u.
"spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "su" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "spy" and "su" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "spy" or "su" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "spy" and "su".
- Full dictionary entry for "spy" 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 #478,940 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spy" and "su" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "su vs sura". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #478,940 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.