Which to use
“sei” is a verb and “son” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,154
- “sei” frequency rank
- #42
- “son” frequency rank
- 36196
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sei | son |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de sein. | Troisième personne du sujet, objet masculin singulier. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sei and son apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
sei and son form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sei is recorded at frequency rank #36,154, classified as averb, pronounced \zaɪ̯\. son is at rank #42, tagged as adet, pronounced \sɔ̃\.
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 36196, this pair ranks #271,337 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sei" and "son" be used interchangeably?
Remembering sei vs son
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sei”; for a determiner, it's “son”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sei” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable