Which to use
“sum” is a noun and “sung” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,050
- “sum” frequency rank
- #8,213
- “sung” frequency rank
- 12263
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sum | sung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A quantity obtained by addition or aggregation. | past participle of sing |
Where the eye mixes sum and sung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sum vs sung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sum is /sʌm/ while sung is /sʌŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sum is recorded at frequency rank #4,050, classified as anoun, pronounced /sʌm/. sung is at rank #8,213, tagged as averb, pronounced /sʌŋ/.
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 12263, this pair ranks #482,544 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sum vs sung
Shared letters: su. Private to "sum": m. Private to "sung": gn.
"sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sung ← ssung · sugn · sungg · sunng · usng
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sum" for "sung" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sum" or "sung"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sum" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #482,544 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sum" and "sung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sung 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 #482,544 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.