Which to use
“ses” is an article and “sous” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,012
- “ses” frequency rank
- #48,705
- “sous” frequency rank
- 75717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ses | sous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Las | Forma del plural de sou. |
Where the eye mixes ses and sous
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ses runs 3 letters (CVC) against sous's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ses with sous
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ses is [ˈses] while sous is [ˈsows]. 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 (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ses is recorded at frequency rank #27,012, classified as anarticle, pronounced [ˈses]. 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 75717, this pair ranks #19,043 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ses vs sous
Shared letters: s. Private to "ses": e. Private to "sous": ou.
"ses" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sous ← osus · sosu · souss · ssous
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ses" for "sous" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ses" or "sous"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sous" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #19,043 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ses" and "sous" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sous vs Susa". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #19,043 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.