Which to use
“spy” and “sum” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,092
- “spy” frequency rank
- #27,789
- “sum” frequency rank
- 75881
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spy | sum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espía. | Suma, adición. |
Where the eye mixes spy and sum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses spy with sum
A purely visual mix-up. spy (/spaɪ/) and sum ([sʌm]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75881, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spy is recorded at frequency rank #48,092, classified as anoun, pronounced /spaɪ/. sum is at rank #27,789, tagged as anoun, pronounced [sʌm].
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 75881, this pair ranks #18,721 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of spy vs sum
Shared letters: s. Private to "spy": py. Private to "sum": mu.
"spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spy" for "sum" ever safe?
Frequency check: "spy" vs "sum" - which ranks higher?
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 "spy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,721 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spy" and "sum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sei vs spy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #18,721 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.