Which to use
“soy” and “su” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,027
- “soy” frequency rank
- #1,609
- “su” frequency rank
- 41636
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | soy | su |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ser (« être »). | Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe savoir. |
Where the eye mixes soy and su
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between soy and su
A purely visual mix-up. soy (\ˈsoi̯\) and su (\sy\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41636, 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\. su is at rank #1,609, tagged as averb, pronounced \sy\.
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 41636, this pair ranks #231,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of soy vs su
Shared letters: s. Private to "soy": oy. Private to "su": u.
"soy" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "su" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "soy" for "su" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "soy" or "su" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "su" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #231,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "soy" and "su" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soy vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #231,636 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.