Which to use
“sam” is an adverb and “sly” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,285
- “sam” frequency rank
- #47,613
- “sly” frequency rank
- 51898
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sam | sly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Du tout (combiné avec la négation). | Matois, malin. |
Letter map: sam vs sly
Shared letters muted; letters that set sam and sly apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - sam and sly
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sam is anadverb and slyanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sam is recorded at frequency rank #4,285, classified as anadv. sly is at rank #47,613, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈslaɪ\.
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 51898, this pair ranks #151,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sam vs sly
Shared letters: s. Private to "sam": am. Private to "sly": ly.
"sam" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sly" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sam" for "sly" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sam" vs "sly" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pair "sam" vs "sly" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "sam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sam" and "sly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sly vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #151,641 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.