suvssumoTell them apart

Which to use

“su” and “sumo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20
“su” frequency rank
#7,630
“sumo” frequency rank
7650
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature su sumo
Definition Adjetivo posesivo de la tercera persona; de él, de ella, de ellos, de ellas. Superlativo irregular de alto: sumamente alto.

Where the eye mixes su and sumo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

2 ch
su
4 ch
sumo

Look-alike desk: su vs sumo

A purely visual mix-up. su ([su]) and sumo ([ˈsumo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “su” sits inside “sumo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

su is recorded at frequency rank #20, classified as anadj, pronounced [su]. sumo is at rank #7,630, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈsumo].

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 7650, this pair ranks #307,348 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of su vs sumo

Shared letters: su. Private to "su": -. Private to "sumo": mo.

"su" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "sumo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sumosmuo · ssumo · summo · suom · usmo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "su" and "sumo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([su] versus [ˈsumo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "su" or "sumo"?
"su" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20 in our Spanish list, against #7,630 for "sumo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "su" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sumo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #307,348 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "su" and "sumo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sumo vs Susa". 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 #307,348 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