Which to use
“su” is an adjective and “sud” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20
- “su” frequency rank
- #14,016
- “sud” frequency rank
- 14036
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | su | sud |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Adjetivo posesivo de la tercera persona; de él, de ella, de ellos, de ellas. | 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 spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set su and sud apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
su and sud form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “su” sits inside “sud” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
su is recorded at frequency rank #20, classified as anadj, pronounced [su]. 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 14036, this pair ranks #285,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "su" and "sud" be used interchangeably?
Remembering su vs sud
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “su”; for a noun, it's “sud”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “su” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable