Which to use
“sous” and “sun” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,705
- “sous” frequency rank
- #8,323
- “sun” frequency rank
- 57028
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sous | sun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de sou. | Sol₂. |
Where the eye mixes sous and sun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sous with sun
A purely visual mix-up. sous ([ˈsows]) and sun (/sʌn/) 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 57028, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sous is recorded at frequency rank #48,705, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsows]. sun is at rank #8,323, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sʌn/.
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 57028, this pair ranks #72,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sous vs sun
Shared letters: su. Private to "sous": o. Private to "sun": n.
"sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sous ← osus · sosu · souss · ssous
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sous" and "sun" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sous" or "sun"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sous" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sous" and "sun" 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 #72,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.