Which to use
“ste” and “su” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,412
- “ste” frequency rank
- #1,609
- “su” frequency rank
- 12021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ste | su |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de stare. | Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe savoir. |
Where the eye mixes ste and su
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ste vs su
A purely visual mix-up. ste (\ˈstɛ\) 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 12021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ste is recorded at frequency rank #10,412, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈstɛ\. 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 12021, this pair ranks #406,884 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ste vs su
Shared letters: s. Private to "ste": et. Private to "su": u.
"ste" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "su" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ste" for "su" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "ste" 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 "ste" 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 #406,884 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ste" and "su" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ste vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #406,884 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.