satvssoyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,702
“sat” frequency rank
#134
“soy” frequency rank
16836
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sat soy
Definition Pasado simple del verbo (to) sit. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de ser.

Where the eye mixes sat and soy

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
sat
3 ch
soy

Look-alike desk: sat vs soy

A purely visual mix-up. sat (/sæt/) and soy ([ˈsoj]) 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 16836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sat is recorded at frequency rank #16,702, classified as averb, pronounced /sæt/. soy is at rank #134, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsoj].

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 16836, this pair ranks #274,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sat vs soy

Shared letters: s. Private to "sat": at. Private to "soy": oy.

"sat" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "soy" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sat" for "soy" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/sæt/ versus [ˈsoj]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sat" or "soy"?
"soy" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #134 in our Spanish list, against #16,702 for "sat". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "soy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #274,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sat" and "soy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sari vs sat". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #274,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list