Which to use
“saké” is a noun and “saper” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,653
- “saké” frequency rank
- #30,798
- “saper” frequency rank
- 74451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | saké | saper |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vin de riz japonais, produit par fermentation comme la bière, titrant de 14° à 17°. | Travailler avec le pic et la pioche à détruire les fondations d’un édifice, d’un bastion, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set saké and saper apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: saké is \sa.ke\ while saper is \sa.pe\. 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 74451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
saké is recorded at frequency rank #43,653, classified as anoun, pronounced \sa.ke\. saper is at rank #30,798, tagged as averb, pronounced \sa.pe\.
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 74451, this pair ranks #37,138 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of saké vs saper
Shared letters: as. Private to "saké": ké. Private to "saper": epr.
"saké" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "saper" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- saper ← asper · saepr · saperr · sapper · sapre · spaer · ssaper
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "saké" and "saper" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "saké" or "saper"?
Remembering saké vs saper
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “saké”; for a verb, it's “saper”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “saké” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable