seavssuConfusable pair

Quick tell: sea is a verb, su is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sea” is a verb and “su” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#116
“sea” frequency rank
#20
“su” frequency rank
136
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sea su
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de ser. Adjetivo posesivo de la tercera persona; de él, de ella, de ellos, de ellas.

Where the eye mixes sea and su

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

3 ch
sea
2 ch
su

Look-alike desk: sea vs su

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sea is [ˈsea] while su is [su]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 136, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sea is recorded at frequency rank #116, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsea]. su is at rank #20, tagged as anadj, pronounced [su].

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 136, this pair ranks #323,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sea vs su

Shared letters: s. Private to "sea": ae. Private to "su": u.

"sea" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "su" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sea" and "su" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sea" is a verb and "su" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sea" or "su" show up more?
"su" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20 in our Spanish list, against #116 for "sea". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "su" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #323,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sea" and "su" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sea vs stem". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #323,746 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