stavssudWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: sta is a adjective, sud is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sta” is an adjective and “sud” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,015
“sta” frequency rank
#14,016
“sud” frequency rank
28031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sta sud
Definition Forma del femenino de sto: «esta». Uno de los cuatro puntos cardinales, el especificado por los 180°, dirigido hacia el polo sur, por convención la dirección hacia abajo en un mapa.

Where the eye mixes sta and sud

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
sta
3 ch
sud

Visual trap between sta and sud

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sta is /ˈsta/ while sud is [ˈsuð̞]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sta is recorded at frequency rank #14,015, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsta/. sud is at rank #14,016, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsuð̞].

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 28031, this pair ranks #223,983 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sta vs sud

Shared letters: s. Private to "sta": at. Private to "sud": du.

"sta" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "sud" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sta" and "sud" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sta" is an adjective and "sud" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sta" or "sud"?
"sta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,015 in our Spanish list, against #14,016 for "sud". 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 "sta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sud" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #223,983 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sta" and "sud" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sta vs stem". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #223,983 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