Which to use
“sue” and “sup” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,985
- “sue” frequency rank
- #13,818
- “sup” frequency rank
- 18803
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sue | sup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To file a legal action against someone, generally a non-criminal (civil) action. | To sip; to take a small amount of food or drink into the mouth, especially with a spoon. |
Where the eye mixes sue and sup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sue vs sup
A purely visual mix-up. sue (/sjuː/) 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 a single letter - e in “sue” becomes p in “sup”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18803, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sue is recorded at frequency rank #4,985, classified as averb, pronounced /sjuː/. 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 18803, this pair ranks #442,445 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sue vs sup
Shared letters: su. Private to "sue": e. Private to "sup": p.
"sue" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "sup" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sue" and "sup" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sue" or "sup"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sue" 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 #442,445 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sue" and "sup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sup vs sura". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #442,445 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.