suervssureWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: suer is a verb, sure is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“suer” is a verb and “sure” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,765
“suer” frequency rank
#8,164
“sure” frequency rank
36929
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature suer sure
Definition Transpirer, rendre de la sueur par les pores de la peau. Féminin singulier de sur : qui a un goût acide et aigrelet.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set suer and sure apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
suer
4 ch
sure

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

suer and sure form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (er ↔ re) - a transposition the eye reads straight past - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36929, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

suer is recorded at frequency rank #28,765, classified as averb, pronounced \sɥe\. sure is at rank #8,164, tagged as anadj, pronounced \syʁ\.

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 36929, this pair ranks #266,126 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

suer#28,765
sure#8,164

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "suer" and "sure" be used interchangeably?
No, "suer" and "sure" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering suer vs sure

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “suer”; for an adjective, it's “sure”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “suer” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list