Which to use
“spy” and “SSE” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,565
- “spy” frequency rank
- #46,460
- “SSE” frequency rank
- 84025
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spy | SSE |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espion. | Sud-sud-est. |
Where the eye mixes spy and SSE
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. spy and SSE follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between spy and SSE
A purely visual mix-up. spy (\spaɪ\) and SSE (\syd sy.d‿ɛst\) 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 84025, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spy is recorded at frequency rank #37,565, classified as anoun, pronounced \spaɪ\. SSE is at rank #46,460, tagged as anoun, pronounced \syd sy.d‿ɛst\.
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 84025, this pair ranks #13,723 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of spy vs SSE
Shared letters: s. Private to "spy": py. Private to "SSE": e.
"spy" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "SSE" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spy" for "SSE" ever safe?
Frequency check: "spy" vs "SSE" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "SSE" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,723 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spy" and "SSE" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "SSE vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #13,723 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.