spavssuraConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,233
“spa” frequency rank
#44,474
“sura” frequency rank
59707
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spa sura
Definition Grafía alternativa de espá. Cada uno de los 114 capítulos en que se divide el Corán, a su vez divididos en ayas o versículos.

Where the eye mixes spa and sura

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. spa runs 3 letters (CCV) against sura's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
spa
4 ch
sura

Visual trap between spa and sura

A purely visual mix-up. spa ([esˈpa]) and sura ([ˈsuɾa]) 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 59707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spa is recorded at frequency rank #15,233, classified as anoun, pronounced [esˈpa]. sura is at rank #44,474, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsuɾa].

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 59707, this pair ranks #61,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of spa vs sura

Shared letters: as. Private to "spa": p. Private to "sura": ru.

"spa" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "sura" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sura ← srua · ssura · surra

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "spa" for "sura" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([esˈpa] versus [ˈsuɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "spa" or "sura"?
"spa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,233 in our Spanish list, against #44,474 for "sura". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "spa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sura" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spa" and "sura" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sura vs Syria". 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 #61,636 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