sousvssusConfusable pair

Quick tell: sous is a noun, sus is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sous” is a noun and “sus” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,705
“sous” frequency rank
#32
“sus” frequency rank
48737
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sous sus
Definition Forma del plural de sou. Se emplea para avivar, infundir ánimo e incitar a la acción rápida y con vigor.

Where the eye mixes sous and sus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
sous
3 ch
sus

Why the eye confuses sous with sus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sous is [ˈsows] while sus is [sus]. 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 (noun vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48737, 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]. sus is at rank #32, tagged as anintj, pronounced [sus].

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 48737, this pair ranks #112,824 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sous vs sus

Shared letters: su. Private to "sous": o. Private to "sus": -.

"sous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "sus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sousosus · sosu · souss · ssous

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sous" and "sus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sous" is a noun and "sus" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sous" or "sus"?
"sus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32 in our Spanish list, against #48,705 for "sous". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sous" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #112,824 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sous" and "sus" 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 #112,824 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