SauvssupWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Sau” and “sup” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,171
“Sau” frequency rank
#25,150
“sup” frequency rank
74321
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sau sup
Definition porco abutre

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Sau and sup apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
Sau
3 ch
sup

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Sau (/zaʊ̯/) and sup (/sʊp/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sau is recorded at frequency rank #49,171, classified as anoun, pronounced /zaʊ̯/. sup is at rank #25,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sʊp/.

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 74321, this pair ranks #2,554 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Sau vs sup

Shared letters: su. Private to "Sau": a. Private to "sup": p.

"Sau" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "sup" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

Sau#49,171
sup#25,150

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Sau" and "sup" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/zaʊ̯/ versus /sʊp/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Sau" or "sup"?
"sup" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,150 in our Portuguese list, against #49,171 for "Sau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Sau vs sup

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Sau” 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