spivssuppWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: spi is a adjective, supp is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“spi” is an adjective and “supp” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,369
“spi” frequency rank
#31,754
“supp” frequency rank
81123
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spi supp
Definition Spirituel (au sens religieux). Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de suppen.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spi and supp apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
spi
4 ch
supp

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spi is \spi\ while supp is \zʊp\. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81123, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spi is recorded at frequency rank #49,369, classified as anadj, pronounced \spi\. supp is at rank #31,754, tagged as averb, pronounced \zʊp\.

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 81123, this pair ranks #19,431 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of spi vs supp

Shared letters: ps. Private to "spi": i. Private to "supp": u.

"spi" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "supp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • suppspup · ssupp · uspp

Frequency comparison

spi#49,369
supp#31,754

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spi" and "supp" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spi" is an adjective and "supp" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "spi" or "supp"?
"supp" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,754 in our French list, against #49,369 for "spi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spi vs supp

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “spi”; for a verb, it's “supp”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spi” 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