Which to use
“says” is a verb and “subs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,038
- “says” frequency rank
- #39,055
- “subs” frequency rank
- 81093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | says | subs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du présent de say. | Pluriel de sub (remplaçant·e). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set says and subs 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: says is \sɛz\ while subs is \syb\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
says is recorded at frequency rank #42,038, classified as averb, pronounced \sɛz\. subs is at rank #39,055, tagged as anoun, pronounced \syb\.
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 81093, this pair ranks #19,494 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of says vs subs
Shared letters: s. Private to "says": ay. Private to "subs": bu.
"says" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "subs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "says" and "subs" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "says" or "subs"?
Remembering says vs subs
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “says”; for a noun, it's “subs”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “says” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable