salir vs suplir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“salir” and “suplir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#364
“salir” frequency rank: #24,321
“suplir” frequency rank: 24685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	salir	suplir
Definition	Ir afuera.	Poner o proveer lo que falta; llenar, subsanar o remediar una carencia.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set salir and suplir apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

salir

6 ch

suplir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. salir ([saˈliɾ]) and suplir ([suˈpliɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

salir is recorded at frequency rank #364, classified as averb, pronounced [saˈliɾ]. suplir is at rank #24,321, tagged as averb, pronounced [suˈpliɾ].

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 24685, this pair ranks #239,973 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of salir vs suplir

Shared letters: ilrs. Private to "salir": a. Private to "suplir": pu.

"salir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "suplir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

salir ← aslir · sailr · salirr · sallir · salri · slair · ssalir
suplir ← spulir · ssuplir · sulpir · supilr · suplirr · supllir · suplri · supplir

Frequency comparison

salir#364

suplir#24,321

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "salir" and "suplir" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([saˈliɾ] versus [suˈpliɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "salir" or "suplir"?

"salir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #364 in our Spanish list, against #24,321 for "suplir". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering salir vs suplir

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “salir” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable