simavssuraWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#25,451
“sima” frequency rank
#44,474
“sura” frequency rank
69925
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sima sura
Definition Cavidad muy profunda que nace en la superficie terrestre. Cada uno de los 114 capítulos en que se divide el Corán, a su vez divididos en ayas o versículos.

Where the eye mixes sima and sura

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. sima and sura follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

4 ch
sima
4 ch
sura

Visual trap between sima and sura

A purely visual mix-up. sima ([ˈsima]) and sura ([ˈsuɾa]) 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 69925, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sima is recorded at frequency rank #25,451, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsima]. sura is at rank #44,474, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsuɾa].

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 69925, this pair ranks #30,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sima vs sura

Shared letters: as. Private to "sima": im. Private to "sura": ru.

"sima" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sura" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sima ← isma · simma · smia · ssima
  • sura ← srua · ssura · surra

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sima" and "sura" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsima] versus [ˈsuɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sima" or "sura"?
"sima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,451 in our Spanish list, against #44,474 for "sura". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "sima" and "sura" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sima" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sura" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #30,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sima" and "sura" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sura vs Syria". 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 #30,888 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