seisvssousWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: seis is a num, sous is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“seis” is a num and “sous” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#596
“seis” frequency rank
#48,705
“sous” frequency rank
49301
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seis sous
Definition Cinco y uno. Forma del plural de sou.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
seis
4 ch
sous

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seis is [ˈsejs] while sous is [ˈsows]. 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49301, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seis is recorded at frequency rank #596, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈsejs]. sous is at rank #48,705, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsows].

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 49301, this pair ranks #109,616 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of seis vs sous

Shared letters: s. Private to "seis": ei. Private to "sous": ou.

"seis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seisceis · esis · seiss · sesi · sies · sseis
  • sousosus · sosu · souss · ssous

Frequency comparison

seis#596
sous#48,705

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "seis" and "sous" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "seis" is a num and "sous" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "seis" or "sous"?
"seis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #596 in our Spanish list, against #48,705 for "sous". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering seis vs sous

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “seis”; for a noun, it's “sous”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “seis” 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