sivsstWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: si is a conjunction, st is a symbol, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“si” is a conjunction and “st” is a symbol - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46
“si” frequency rank
#1,190
“st” frequency rank
1236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature si st
Definition Dans le cas où, à condition que, supposé que. Note d’usage : Conjonction qui introduit une condition (suivie d’une conséquence) ou une supposition qui peut être supprimée en utilisant un conditionnel. Symbole de la stère.

Letter map: si vs st

Shared letters muted; letters that set si and st apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

2 ch
si
2 ch
st

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: si is aconjunction and stasymbol. On the page they differ by a single letter - i in “si” becomes t in “st”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

si is recorded at frequency rank #46, classified as aconj, pronounced \si\. st is at rank #1,190, tagged as asymbol.

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 1236, this pair ranks #438,380 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of si vs st

Shared letters: s. Private to "si": i. Private to "st": t.

"si" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "st" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "si" and "st" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "si" is a conjunction and "st" a symbol, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "si" or "st"?
"si" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46 in our French list, against #1,190 for "st". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list