Which to use
“si” is a conjunction and “sur” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46
- “si” frequency rank
- #26
- “sur” frequency rank
- 72
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | si | sur |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Indique une position plus élevée. |
Where the eye mixes si and sur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses si with sur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: si is \si\ while sur is \syʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
si is recorded at frequency rank #46, classified as aconj, pronounced \si\. sur is at rank #26, tagged as aprep, pronounced \syʁ\.
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 72, this pair ranks #440,134 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of si vs sur
Shared letters: s. Private to "si": i. Private to "sur": ru.
"si" · 2 letters · shape CV · "sur" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "si" and "sur" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "si" or "sur" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "si" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #440,134 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "si" and "sur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "si vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #440,134 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.