Which to use
“sœur” and “sueur” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,380
- “sœur” frequency rank
- #9,746
- “sueur” frequency rank
- 11126
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sœur | sueur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Femme ou fille, ayant le même père et la même mère que la personne considérée. Si un seul des parents est commun, c’est une demi-sœur. | Liquide aqueux qui sort par les pores de la peau. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sœur and sueur apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
sœur and sueur form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sœur is recorded at frequency rank #1,380, classified as anoun, pronounced \sœʁ\. sueur is at rank #9,746, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɥœʁ\.
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 11126, this pair ranks #410,378 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sœur" and "sueur" be used interchangeably?
Remembering sœur vs sueur
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sœur” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable