Which to use
“séjour” and “sour” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,647
- “séjour” frequency rank
- #35,736
- “sour” frequency rank
- 38383
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | séjour | sour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Demeure, résidence plus ou moins longue dans un lieu, dans un pays. | Égout. |
Where the eye mixes séjour and sour
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. séjour runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against sour's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between séjour and sour
A purely visual mix-up. séjour (\se.ʒuʁ\) and sour (\suʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38383, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
séjour is recorded at frequency rank #2,647, classified as anoun, pronounced \se.ʒuʁ\. sour is at rank #35,736, tagged as anoun, pronounced \suʁ\.
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 38383, this pair ranks #255,637 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of séjour vs sour
Shared letters: orsu. Private to "séjour": jé. Private to "sour": -.
"séjour" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "sour" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sour ← osur · soru · sourr · ssour · suor
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "séjour" and "sour" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "séjour" or "sour" show up more?
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 "séjour" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sour" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,637 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "séjour" and "sour" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sour vs suu". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #255,637 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.