Which to use
“s” is a symbol and “su” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #511
- “s” frequency rank
- #6,713
- “su” frequency rank
- 7224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | s | su |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | símbolo de segundo | dele |
Letter map: s vs su
Shared letters muted; letters that set s and su apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - s and su
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: s is asymbol and suanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “s” sits inside “su”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
s is recorded at frequency rank #511, classified as asymbol. su is at rank #6,713, tagged as anadj.
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 7224, this pair ranks #66,961 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of s vs su
Shared letters: s. Private to "s": -. Private to "su": u.
"s" · 1 letters · shape C · "su" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "s" for "su" ever safe?
Frequency check: "s" vs "su" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've compared "s" and "su". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "s" 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 #66,961 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "s" and "su" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs su". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #66,961 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.