Which to use
“sole” and “sous” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,849
- “sole” frequency rank
- #48,705
- “sous” frequency rank
- 82554
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sole | sous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sol | Forma del plural de sou. |
Where the eye mixes sole and sous
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. sole (CVCV) and sous (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between sole and sous
A purely visual mix-up. sole (/ˈsole/) and sous ([ˈsows]) 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 82554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sole is recorded at frequency rank #33,849, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsole/. 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 82554, this pair ranks #9,121 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sole vs sous
Shared letters: os. Private to "sole": el. Private to "sous": u.
"sole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sole" and "sous" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "sole" vs "sous" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sole" 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 #9,121 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sole" 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 #9,121 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.