Which to use
“say” and “sea” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,225
- “say” frequency rank
- #116
- “sea” frequency rank
- 15341
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | say | sea |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Decir. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de ser. |
Where the eye mixes say and sea
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses say with sea
A purely visual mix-up. say (/seɪ/) and sea ([ˈsea]) 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 15341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
say is recorded at frequency rank #15,225, classified as averb, pronounced /seɪ/. sea is at rank #116, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsea].
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 15341, this pair ranks #280,563 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of say vs sea
Shared letters: as. Private to "say": y. Private to "sea": e.
"say" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "sea" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "say" for "sea" ever safe?
Frequency check: "say" vs "sea" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "say" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sea" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #280,563 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "say" and "sea" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sari vs say". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #280,563 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.