Which to use
“sub” is a preposition and “sus” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,413
- “sub” frequency rank
- #12,488
- “sus” frequency rank
- 22901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sub | sus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Préposition latine, qui s’emploie dans des locutions telles que : | Dessus. |
Where the eye mixes sub and sus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sub and sus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sub is \syb\ while sus is \sys\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “sub” becomes s in “sus”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sub is recorded at frequency rank #10,413, classified as aprep, pronounced \syb\. sus is at rank #12,488, tagged as anadv, pronounced \sys\.
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 22901, this pair ranks #355,481 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sub vs sus
Shared letters: su. Private to "sub": b. Private to "sus": -.
"sub" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sub" for "sus" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "sub" or "sus" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sub" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #355,481 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sub" and "sus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sus vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #355,481 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.