Which to use
“Sumatra” is a name and “sutra” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,042
- “Sumatra” frequency rank
- #32,613
- “sutra” frequency rank
- 60655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sumatra | sutra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The largest island entirely in Indonesia and the world’s sixth largest island. | A rule or thesis in Sanskrit grammar or Hindu law or philosophy. |
Where the eye mixes Sumatra and sutra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Sumatra vs sutra
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sumatra is /suːˈmɑːtɹə/ while sutra is /ˈsuːtɹə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sumatra is recorded at frequency rank #28,042, classified as aname, pronounced /suːˈmɑːtɹə/. sutra is at rank #32,613, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsuːtɹə/.
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 60655, this pair ranks #98,919 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Sumatra vs sutra
Shared letters: arstu. Private to "Sumatra": m. Private to "sutra": -.
"Sumatra" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "sutra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Sumatra" for "sutra" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Sumatra" vs "sutra" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Sumatra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sutra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,919 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sumatra" and "sutra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sura vs sutra". 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 #98,919 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.