ssvsSTLWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ss is a adverb, STL is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ss” is an adverb and “STL” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,347
“ss” frequency rank
#48,211
“STL” frequency rank
54558
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ss STL
Definition Et suivante, et suivantes. Une des huit séries du baccalauréat technologique, couvrant deux années de préparation avant le baccalauréat.

Where the eye mixes ss and STL

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
ss
3 ch
STL

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ss is \et sɥi.vɑ̃\ while STL is \ɛs.te.ɛl\. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ss is recorded at frequency rank #6,347, classified as anadv, pronounced \et sɥi.vɑ̃\. STL is at rank #48,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.te.ɛl\.

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 54558, this pair ranks #133,208 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ss vs STL

Shared letters: s. Private to "ss": -. Private to "STL": lt.

"ss" · 2 letters · shape CC  ·  "STL" · 3 letters · shape CCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ss" and "STL" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ss" is an adverb and "STL" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ss" or "STL"?
"ss" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,347 in our French list, against #48,211 for "STL". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "ss" and "STL". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ss" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "STL" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #133,208 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ss" and "STL" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "STL vs suu". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list