Which to use
“ste” is a verb and “sy” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,412
- “ste” frequency rank
- #15,261
- “sy” frequency rank
- 25673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ste | sy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de stare. | Pronom personnel sujet féminin de la troisième personne du singulier : elle. |
Where the eye mixes ste and sy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ste and sy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ste is \ˈstɛ\ while sy is \səi\. 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 (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25673, 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\. sy is at rank #15,261, tagged as apron, pronounced \səi\.
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 25673, this pair ranks #339,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ste vs sy
Shared letters: s. Private to "ste": et. Private to "sy": y.
"ste" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "sy" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ste" and "sy" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "ste" or "sy" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ste" and "sy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #339,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ste" and "sy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "suu vs sy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #339,508 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.