Which to use
“spy” and “sun” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,092
- “spy” frequency rank
- #8,323
- “sun” frequency rank
- 56415
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spy | sun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espía. | Sol₂. |
Where the eye mixes spy and sun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses spy with sun
A purely visual mix-up. spy (/spaɪ/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56415, 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/. 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 56415, this pair ranks #74,696 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of spy vs sun
Shared letters: s. Private to "spy": py. Private to "sun": nu.
"spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "sun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spy" for "sun" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "spy" or "sun" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "spy" and "sun" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "spy" 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 #74,696 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spy" and "sun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sei vs spy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #74,696 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.