Which to use
“sultán” is a noun and “suman” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,712
- “sultán” frequency rank
- #7,791
- “suman” frequency rank
- 24503
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sultán | suman |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Título del emperador de Turquía. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sumar. |
Where the eye mixes sultán and suman
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sultán with suman
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sultán is [sul̪ˈt̪ãn] while suman is [ˈsumãn]. 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 24503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sultán is recorded at frequency rank #16,712, classified as anoun, pronounced [sul̪ˈt̪ãn]. suman is at rank #7,791, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsumãn].
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 24503, this pair ranks #240,874 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sultán vs suman
Shared letters: nsu. Private to "sultán": ltá. Private to "suman": am.
"sultán" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "suman" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- suman ← smuan · ssuman · suamn · sumann · summan · sumna · usman
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sultán" and "suman" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sultán" vs "suman" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sultán" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "suman" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #240,874 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sultán" and "suman" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "salman vs sultán". 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 #240,874 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.