shutvssuuWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: shut is a verb, suu is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“shut” is a verb and “suu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,005
“shut” frequency rank
#49,960
“suu” frequency rank
90965
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature shut suu
Definition Refermer, fermer ce qui était ouvert, fermer. Son.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set shut and suu apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
shut
3 ch
suu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: shut is averb and suuanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

shut is recorded at frequency rank #41,005, classified as averb. suu is at rank #49,960, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈsuː\.

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 90965, this pair ranks #4,281 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of shut vs suu

Shared letters: su. Private to "shut": ht. Private to "suu": -.

"shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "suu" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • shuthsut · shhut · shtu · shutt · sshut · suht

Frequency comparison

shut#41,005
suu#49,960

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "shut" and "suu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "shut" is a verb and "suu" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "shut" or "suu"?
"shut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,005 in our French list, against #49,960 for "suu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering shut vs suu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “shut”; for an adjective, it's “suu”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “shut” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list