soyavsspyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,871
“soya” frequency rank
#48,092
“spy” frequency rank
70963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature soya spy
Definition (Glycine max) Planta de la familia de las fabáceas, cultivada por sus semillas de alto valor proteico utilizadas en alimentación y para la producción de aceite. Espía.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
soya
3 ch
spy

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. soya ([ˈsoʝa]) 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 70963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

soya is recorded at frequency rank #22,871, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsoʝa]. 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 70963, this pair ranks #28,542 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of soya vs spy

Shared letters: sy. Private to "soya": ao. Private to "spy": p.

"soya" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • soyaosya · soay · soyya · ssoya · syoa

Frequency comparison

soya#22,871
spy#48,092

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "soya" and "spy" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsoʝa] versus /spaɪ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "soya" or "spy"?
"soya" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,871 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 soya 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 “soya” 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