Which to use
“su” is an adjective and “suyo” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20
- “su” frequency rank
- #2,426
- “suyo” frequency rank
- 2446
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | su | suyo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Adjetivo posesivo de la tercera persona; de él, de ella, de ellos, de ellas. | Pronombre posesivo de tercera persona en género masculino y femenino y ambos números singular y plural. |
Where the eye mixes su and suyo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses su with suyo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: su is [su] while suyo is [ˈsuʝo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “su” sits inside “suyo”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
su is recorded at frequency rank #20, classified as anadj, pronounced [su]. suyo is at rank #2,426, tagged as apron, pronounced [ˈsuʝo].
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 2446, this pair ranks #320,313 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of su vs suyo
Shared letters: su. Private to "su": -. Private to "suyo": oy.
"su" · 2 letters · shape CV · "suyo" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- suyo ← ssuyo · suoy · suyyo · syuo · usyo
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "su" and "suyo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "su" or "suyo" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "suyo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #320,313 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "su" and "suyo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Susa vs suyo". 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 #320,313 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.