Which to use
“su” is a verb and “SV” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,609
- “su” frequency rank
- #28,770
- “SV” frequency rank
- 30379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | su | SV |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe savoir. | Province de Savone. |
Where the eye mixes su and SV
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses su with SV
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: su is \sy\ while SV is \ɛs.se.vu\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - u in “su” becomes v in “SV”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
su is recorded at frequency rank #1,609, classified as averb, pronounced \sy\. SV is at rank #28,770, tagged as aname, pronounced \ɛs.se.vu\.
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 30379, this pair ranks #310,704 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of su vs SV
Shared letters: s. Private to "su": u. Private to "SV": v.
"su" · 2 letters · shape CV · "SV" · 2 letters · shape CC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "su" for "SV" ever safe?
Frequency check: "su" vs "SV" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "su" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "SV" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,704 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "su" and "SV" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "suu vs SV". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #310,704 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.