Which to use
“saké” is a noun and “ste” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,653
- “saké” frequency rank
- #10,412
- “ste” frequency rank
- 54065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | saké | ste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vin de riz japonais, produit par fermentation comme la bière, titrant de 14° à 17°. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de stare. |
Where the eye mixes saké and ste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between saké and ste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: saké is \sa.ke\ while ste is \ˈstɛ\. 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 54065, 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\. ste is at rank #10,412, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈstɛ\.
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 54065, this pair ranks #136,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of saké vs ste
Shared letters: s. Private to "saké": aké. Private to "ste": et.
"saké" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "ste" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "saké" for "ste" ever safe?
Frequency check: "saké" vs "ste" - 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 "saké" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #136,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "saké" and "ste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "saké vs stase". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #136,543 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.