Which to use
“spy” is a noun and “supo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,092
- “spy” frequency rank
- #4,201
- “supo” frequency rank
- 52293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spy | supo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espía. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de saber. |
Where the eye mixes spy and supo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. spy runs 3 letters (CCV) against supo's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses spy with supo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spy is /spaɪ/ while supo is [ˈsupo]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52293, 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/. supo is at rank #4,201, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsupo].
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 52293, this pair ranks #93,420 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spy vs supo
Shared letters: ps. Private to "spy": y. Private to "supo": ou.
"spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "supo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- supo ← spuo · ssupo · suop · suppo · uspo
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "spy" and "supo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "spy" or "supo"?
Useful next steps
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 "supo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,420 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spy" and "supo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sei vs spy". 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 #93,420 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.