Which to use
“sump” and “sura” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,400
- “sump” frequency rank
- #49,659
- “sura” frequency rank
- 91059
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sump | sura |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A hollow or pit into which liquid drains, such as a cesspool, cesspit or sink. | Any of the 114 chapters of the Quran. |
Where the eye mixes sump and sura
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. sump (CVCC) and sura (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses sump with sura
A purely visual mix-up. sump (/sʌmp/) and sura (/ˈsʊə.ɹə/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 91059, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sump is recorded at frequency rank #41,400, classified as anoun, pronounced /sʌmp/. sura is at rank #49,659, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsʊə.ɹə/.
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 91059, this pair ranks #3,614 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sump vs sura
Shared letters: su. Private to "sump": mp. Private to "sura": ar.
"sump" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sura" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sump" and "sura" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sump" or "sura"?
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 "sump" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sura" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,614 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sump" and "sura" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "suds 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 #3,614 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.