sur

[ˈsuɾ]

/[ˈsuɾ]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“sur” is in the everyday core of Spanish, ranked #517 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.

#517
frequency rank, Spanish
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Punto cardinal del horizonte, exactamente donde se encuentra el Sol a mediodía (en el hemisferio norte), marcado a 180° con respecto al Norte en una brújula. Convencionalmente se ubica en la parte ...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sur vs sy
33% similar
sur vs sus
67% similar
sur vs SUV
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sur
PropertyValue
Headwordsur
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈsuɾ]
Letters3
Frequency rank#517
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sur” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sur lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for sur is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈsuɾ]. Corpus data places it at rank #517 in overall Spanish word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

sur doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable Spanish rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sy", "sus", "SUV", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Spanish form is sur, spelled S-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Punto cardinal del horizonte, exactamente donde se encuentra el Sol a mediodía (en el hemisferio norte), marcado a 180° con respecto al Norte en una brújula. Convencionalmente se ubica en la parte inferior de los mapas,.
  2. 2
    El polo negativo de un imán.

Synonyms

austromediodíameridiónostrosud

Antonyms

norteseptentrión

This word in other languages

south(English)sud(Français)Süden(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sur"?
"sur" is spelled S-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈsuɾ].
What does "sur" mean?
As a noun, "sur" means: Punto cardinal del horizonte, exactamente donde se encuentra el Sol a mediodía (en el hemisferio norte), marcado a 180° con respecto al Norte en una brújula. Convencionalmente se ubica en la parte ...
What words are commonly confused with "sur"?
"sur" is commonly confused with "sy", "sus", "SUV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sur" is [ˈsuɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sur" come from?
"sur" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “sur”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is S-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈsuɾ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sy” - see the side-by-side comparison. sur vs sy
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list