Which to use
“soy” is a verb and “ss” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,027
- “soy” frequency rank
- #6,347
- “ss” frequency rank
- 46374
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | soy | ss |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ser (« être »). | Et suivante, et suivantes. |
Where the eye mixes soy and ss
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses soy with ss
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: soy is \ˈsoi̯\ while ss is \et sɥi.vɑ̃\. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46374, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
soy is recorded at frequency rank #40,027, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈsoi̯\. ss is at rank #6,347, tagged as anadv, pronounced \et sɥi.vɑ̃\.
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 46374, this pair ranks #195,474 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of soy vs ss
Shared letters: s. Private to "soy": oy. Private to "ss": -.
"soy" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "ss" · 2 letters · shape CC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "soy" for "ss" ever safe?
Frequency check: "soy" vs "ss" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "soy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #195,474 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "soy" and "ss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soy vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #195,474 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.