soumisvssourdsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“soumis” and “sourds” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,645
“soumis” frequency rank
#14,157
“sourds” frequency rank
16802
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature soumis sourds
Definition Qui est disposé à l’obéissance ou qui en a pris le parti après avoir résisté. Masculin pluriel de sourd.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set soumis and sourds apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
soumis
6 ch
sourds

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. soumis (\su.mi\) and sourds (\suʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

soumis is recorded at frequency rank #2,645, classified as anadj, pronounced \su.mi\. sourds is at rank #14,157, tagged as anadj, 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 16802, this pair ranks #386,188 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of soumis vs sourds

Shared letters: osu. Private to "soumis": im. Private to "sourds": dr.

"soumis" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "sourds" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • soumisosumis · somuis · souims · soumiss · soummis · soumsi · ssoumis · suomis
  • sourdsosurds · soruds · soudrs · sourdds · sourdss · sourrds · soursd · ssourds

Frequency comparison

soumis#2,645
sourds#14,157

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "soumis" and "sourds" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\su.mi\ versus \suʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "soumis" or "sourds"?
"soumis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,645 in our French list, against #14,157 for "sourds". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering soumis vs sourds

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “soumis” 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