sopavsspyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,673
“sopa” frequency rank
#48,092
“spy” frequency rank
53765
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sopa spy
Definition Preparación liquida y cocida junto con otros ingredientes como carne o verduras. Espía.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
sopa
3 ch
spy

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sopa ([ˈsopa]) and spy (/spaɪ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53765, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sopa is recorded at frequency rank #5,673, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsopa]. spy is at rank #48,092, tagged as anoun, pronounced /spaɪ/.

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 53765, this pair ranks #86,302 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sopa vs spy

Shared letters: ps. Private to "sopa": ao. Private to "spy": y.

"sopa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sopaospa · soap · soppa · spoa · ssopa

Frequency comparison

sopa#5,673
spy#48,092

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sopa" and "spy" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsopa] versus /spaɪ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sopa" or "spy"?
"sopa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,673 in our Spanish list, against #48,092 for "spy". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sopa vs spy

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sopa” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list