sur

\syʁ\

/\syʁ\/ prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“sur” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #26 in French word frequency and used as a preposition.

#26
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Indique une position plus élevée.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sur vs sy
33% similar
sur vs SV
0% similar
sur vs SVP
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sur
PropertyValue
Headwordsur
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPreposition
IPA\syʁ\
Letters3
Frequency rank#26
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sur” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sur lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for sur is 3 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \syʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #26 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

sur doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sy", "SV", "SVP", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is sur, spelled S-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Indique une position plus élevée.
  2. 2
    Indique une supériorité.
  3. 3
    Indique une direction.
  4. 4
    Indique une position temporelle, un instant donné.
  5. 5
    Indique l’origine, la base ou ce qui sert de garantie morale.
  6. 6
    Indique un rapport de dimension.
  7. 7
    Indique un rapport de proportion.
  8. 8
    Indique un rapport de répétition.
  9. 9
    Indique une fraction.
  10. 10
    Exprime une idée de contact.
  11. 11
    Indique une proximité géographique. [NB : L'Académie française juge cet emploi inapproprié, mais en supposant que le mot est employé dans le sens de à.]
  12. 12
    Indique une approximation de temps ; vers.
  13. 13
    Indique une idée de connaissance.

Synonyms

au-dessuspar-dessuscontreàen direction deversàd’aprèsparpouraprèsparàcontreaux alentours deà proximité deaux environs desecteurversà propos deau sujet de

This word in other languages

on(English)en(Español)bei(Deutsch)sobre(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sur"?
"sur" is spelled S-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is \syʁ\.
What does "sur" mean?
As a preposition, "sur" means: Indique une position plus élevée.
What words are commonly confused with "sur"?
"sur" is commonly confused with "sy", "SV", "SVP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sur" is \syʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sur" come from?
"sur" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “sur”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is S-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \syʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sy” - see the side-by-side comparison. sur vs sy
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list