Which to use
“sure” is an adjective and “survey” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #202
- “sure” frequency rank
- #2,091
- “survey” frequency rank
- 2293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sure | survey |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Physically secure and certain, non-failing, reliable. | The act of surveying; a general view. |
Where the eye mixes sure and survey
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sure is /ʃɔː(ɹ)/ while survey is /ˈsɜːveɪ/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sure is recorded at frequency rank #202, classified as anadj, pronounced /ʃɔː(ɹ)/. survey is at rank #2,091, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɜːveɪ/.
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 2293, this pair ranks #525,335 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sure vs survey
Shared letters: ersu. Private to "sure": -. Private to "survey": vy.
"sure" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "survey" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV