sakevssureWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sake is a noun, sure is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sake” is a noun and “sure” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,392
“sake” frequency rank
#42,717
“sure” frequency rank
75109
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sake sure
Definition Bebida alcohólica producto de la fermentación del arroz, que es tradicional de Japón. Seguro, convencido.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sake and sure apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sake
4 ch
sure

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sake is [ˈsake] while sure is /ʃʊə/ (fusión pour–poor). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sake is recorded at frequency rank #32,392, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsake]. sure is at rank #42,717, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ʃʊə/ (fusión pour–poor).

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 75109, this pair ranks #20,167 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sake vs sure

Shared letters: es. Private to "sake": ak. Private to "sure": ru.

"sake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sure" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sakeaske · saek · sakke · skae · ssake
  • suresrue · ssure · surre

Frequency comparison

sake#32,392
sure#42,717

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sake" and "sure" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sake" is a noun and "sure" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sake" or "sure"?
"sake" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,392 in our Spanish list, against #42,717 for "sure". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sake vs sure

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sake”; for an adjective, it's “sure”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sake” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

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